


Brave New World

by StormFireGirl



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alternate Ending, Autistic Character, Bipolar Disorder, Body Dysphoria, Body Horror, Cybertronian Equivalents to mental illness, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Gore, Humans Become Cybertronians, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Megatron is an abusive asshole, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out of Character, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Finale, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Seekers, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Slow To Update, Spark Sexual Interfacing, Starscream being Starscream, Survivor Guilt, earth is cyberformed, it writes itself, post deadlock, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2019-11-28 08:55:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18206294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormFireGirl/pseuds/StormFireGirl
Summary: She woke up in a daze, in a body that wasn't her own. All she could remember was a flash of green and tremendous, horrific pain as her body warped and shifted into its current metallic state.With little choice, she goes to find help in a world she doesn't recognize as her own.





	1. The Ordinary World, Somehow I Have to Find

**Author's Note:**

> I got mad at a fanfic on here that did this and had child porn in it (not something that should be posted at all no matter what the law says because it's still sexual content about underage people) so I decided to do the same only, no child porn! Still it isn't for anyone under the age of 18. I also don't condone any violence, rape or whatever that may happen in this story and I will keep it at a minimum. I'll put warnings up too. All characters are over the age of 18, or if they aren't nothing sexual happens to them. With that disclaimer, let's begin! 
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: body horror, death

She awoke with a sharp gasp. No air filled her lungs. Yet somehow, she still breathed.

 

The woman laid there for a long moment, and stared at an empty grey sky. She was on her back, sprawled out, the world around her silent. Slowly, she forced herself to sit up, and more of her surroundings came into view. It wasn't hers. She wasn't sure what she even was looking at! Her temporary home had been situated, and was famed for overlooking a valley filled with trees and a river cutting through at the bottom. Her dorm especially. What she saw were gilded imitations; silver, sharp, glinting metal. A stream of cartoonish blue rolled through the silver. She blinked, but it didn't feel like she had. Her eyes opened and shut, bleary, like a camera lens. Lens? Wait. Where were her glasses?!

 

She looked down finally and saw her hands- no, not her hands. Her mind disconnected as, where flesh had been, she only saw metal! Metal formed, shaped and conjoined, perfectly mimicking human hands. They could still feel the ground beneath. Images flashed to life in her vision as she let out a high pitched scream of terror. There were blips, flashes, a language she didn't understand and with a wail she recoiled. Through them she saw her body was completely altered; robotic, shimmering metal in black and deep blue, mimicking her once flesh and bone shape. She staggered up on new and old limbs, managing a few steps. She was giant now, towering over the metal capped ruins of her university-! She slipped and fell, unbalanced and unused to her new size. She tumbled through the valley, yelling, barely avoiding rolling into the river! She gasped again, new flashes of images assaulting her vision and she swatted at them in a futile attempt. She lifted herself, and turned to stare down into the blue. A face she did not recognize stared back.

 

It was hers. She knew she was still herself. But the face was not organic. Like the rest of her, it was metal, shaped to mimic her features. She had no nose, no hair, a flared metal crest framing her face the only distinction. Her eyes, pure blue watered with a strange fluid and dripped onto the ground. She recoiled, covered her mouth to silence her terrified scream. Sparks, actual electric ones flashed across her helm and it only frightened her more. She scrambled up the hillside, crying out for help. It was still deathly silent. No birds, no insects. It was as if the entire world was cold and empty. Finally making it to the top, she called out for names of her fellow dorm members, her R.A.s, her R.C., someone, anyone! All she found was the surrounding campus, the ruins of her dorm, literally every surface turned to iron, steel and titanium. Looking around for another human, she finally looked down again, into the dorm. It had caved in part way, from what she wasn't certain. Weak sunlight filtered down through the haze, illuminating the contents inside. She realized she was looking in her room, and the one next to it. She almost threw up.

 

A corpse stood frozen in place by the metal. It was warped, twisted, some parts fused with wires and it just looked so horribly _wrong_ ! The mouth was frozen open in a mortal scream of pained anguish. Their eyes were glassy, parts turned blue and cracked with dried blood caked around it. They died horrifically, _painfully_. It took a long, horrified moment to recall who it was; Marcy Andres. Marcy, her friend, her next door neighbor who always let her borrow her hair drier and showed her how to do winged eyeliner had been killed in a terrible way. And she had survived, miraculously. She closed her eyes, again they shuttered like a camera lens, and she tried to think back. What had happened? Why had she survived? 

 

She had returned after a day out shopping. Lots to do, her typical Friday. Transit was crowded. She hated that. Mom had called. Nagged her about a form she had to fill out. Yeah, yeah, she'd get to it as soon as she got her groceries in her room! Dammit. Her keys were deep in her pocket. She needed to invest in a decent lanyard! She finally fished out her key. There. She would drop off her groceries, fill out the damn form, photocopy it and be on time for her sociology class! There was distant screams, as she pushed her key into the lock of the security door. She had looked up instinctively, looking out at the valley. She saw a faint green shimmer in the distance, where a power plant several miles away was. The glow suddenly became blinding and she had dropped her bags, shielding her eyes. It was hot, so hot, and something was crawling up her skin, _burning_ -!

 

She jerked back, and it all clicked. There was some kind of event- a- a _mass extinction_ event. Whatever it was had turned her into a gargantuan robot. Whatever it was had killed Marcy. It may have killed everyone else. Slowly, the realization turned to dread. She knew what that meant. Tears, but not really tears fell again as she began to sob violently. Her parents. Her sisters. Her family and friends and loved ones were gone! Unless they had been as lucky as she was, they had ended up like Marcy. And deep down, she knew that it was more than likely the latter. Slowly, she reached down into the cavern of her room and poked around, until finally she found a scrap of patchy fabric. Her teddy bear was the only thing to partially survive. With a sob, she pressed it close to her face, whispering apologies. A compartment in her chest automatically opened. After some prodding, she figured out it was like a cubby and hid it there. She spent the entirety of the remaining day and most of the night waiting. For what? She didn't know. For who? Help. She couldn't be the last one alive! Couldn't she…? But when dawn broke, and there was no signs of anyone else, she made up her mind. She stood, and slowly began to walk away. She needed to find someone who could help. There had to be something, _someone_  out there somewhere!

 

The city was decimated. It looked like a scene straight out of out of “Independence Day”. Only there were no human survivors as far as she could see even though she called out for anyone to heed her. No replies came. She stumbled over cars, now the size of one of her feet, and found thousands of corpses like Marcy’s. It scared her. She anxiously hugged herself and proceeded to make her way through, pushing by caved-in skyscrapers and over piles of rubble. It was dusk again by the time she cleared the city. She slept beneath a grove of metallic trees, too exhausted to continue further. But midday, she was up again, staggering forth into the unknown, bleary eyes scanning for any life. Once or twice she happened through towns, by former lakes turned thick syrupy blue. She drank some, and though the texture made her severely gag, it seemed to make her feel more energized and alert. It was food of some kind. It kept her going.

 

She found no one, even as the days melted together, and the landscape became unfamiliar. The scenery transformed from plains, to forest, to mountains. She crossed through, twice falling and ending up with something damaged. But she kept going. There had to be someone- anyone! She couldn't be the last one alive!

 

Mountains eventually gave way to desert. Tired, hurt, and hopeless she staggered up to a small pool of the blue and forced herself to swallow down some. And then she stared at her reflection. The face she still didn't recognize. The life she didn't recognize. What was left? No one was out there. No one was alive. She laid there a time, worn out and too exhausted to keep moving. And then she moved. _No. She couldn't give up! There had to be someone! Get! Up!!!_

 

She did it. She stood up once more, though her joints screamed in pain and that flashing warning in her eyes. She didn't pay attention to it. She kept moving. 

 

One more day. _Just one more day!_

 

A familiar sound pierced her ears or _whatever_ they were now. A roar, one she heard throughout her life, a rumbling distant one that signalled what she'd been searching for.

 

She looked up, and saw her salvation: _a jet!_

 

"HERE!!!" She screamed, speaking for the first time in god knew how long. "HERE!!! DOWN HERE!!!" She waved frantically with all her strength. " _PLEASE_!!!"

 

The jet circled. _The jet descended._ "YES!!! _YES!!!_ " 

 

Her legs gave out and she collapsed, a thousand of those pop up windows in her vision flashing warnings. She laughed, not paying them heed, especially whatever that countdown was, as she watched the jet beeline towards her. She watched it land, rolling to a stop feet from her. 

 

"I- I need help- _please-_ so many people are- they're hurt or dead I don't know! They- I've been looking _for so long-_!"

 

Her babbling was cut short by the jet destroying itself. At least that's what she thought as it collapsed in on itself! But no. It didn't collapse. It shifted! It shifted, rotating into different pieces until a robot stood before her. A robot _like her_. 

 

"What-?" The countdown hit zero and her world went dark, left on a cliffhanger with the lingering question echoing in her mind. 

 

_"What are you?"_


	2. After Deadlock/Starscream's Lament

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: past mentions of abuse, physical violence, minor body horror, mention of depression, death

* * *

 

 

Two months.

 

It had been two "months", sixty solar cycles since it all went to slag. Starscream was sure that whatever lingering essence of Primus remained was punishing him. In these two months, there had been nothing. The earth, this once organic planet was now coated and steeped in the metal and energon that once made their home. The Omega Lock had been an unforeseen development in their War, one that seemed to yield little to no results as of yet. And thus, he waited. He waited, like everyone did, in the chasm that had once been the "Grand Canyon" as humans named it, hidden from sight. The Nemesis' shielding and masking presence was their advantage tactically right now. The Autobots had yet to come out of hiding. 

 

The mech sighed as he strode through the halls yet again. He was so terribly frustrated and tired. Tired of it  _all._ Once again, this stupid war continued. There was no end in sight, now with the stakes raised. This new planet was now hospitable to their species, but the side effects of Shockwave's device had yet to be seen. It was never meant to be so... vast. And now there was talk of insubordination. Someone had caused this. Someone had activated the Omega Lock. 

 

* * *

 

_Everyone froze as the machine roared to life. Autobot and Decepticon hesitated, hearing it fire up, unsure at first but then it simultaneously hit them at once._

 

_"NO!" Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots roared as a beam of pure energy focused through the green cyber-matter, causing it to expand greatly and funnel towards the earth's surface! Starscream's jaw dropped. Wasn't the amount supposed to be smaller than that-?_

 

_The mixture punctured earth's atmosphere before anyone could react in time to stop it. The Omega Lock worked. It had worked too well, in fact._

 

_"MEGATRON!" Optimus bellowed with a rage that Starscream had never heard. Not even when his precious scout bit the bucket. Or did he? There he was, climbing up the side, struggling to at least as the machine roared._

 

_"This isn't right." Their leader uttered, still in shock as the Prime stood in spite of his wound. He backed up. "Decepticons, retreat! Regroup at my coordinates!" He transformed and swooped through the airless void, and though Optimus made the move to chase, he fell. He was still gravely wounded._

 

_Starscream obeyed, disappearing around a corner and rejoined his leader's side._

 

* * *

 

The base they were making, outside of the Nemesis, was taking awhile to construct. Especially now that some Vehicons, with the resources available to them, deserted. Go figure. Give cold constructed drones enough of an AI, and they'd start doing their duties less and less and incidents like these would start happening! 

 

* * *

 

_Somehow, they managed to get the Nemesis back from the Autobots, who were equally devastated, overwhelmed and injured. They retrieved Soundwave immediately, after discovering what those pesky humans had done to him, then regrouped officially at the coordinates Megatron said._

 

_"Who did this?" Was the first thing their leader demanded as he looked at the army he commanded. "Well?! Who dared to defy orders and activated the Omega Lock without clearance to do so?!?"_

 

_"... Sir," A Vehicon spoke up nervously, tense, "I was there but, I didn't see anyone do it."_

 

 _Megatron let out a snarl. "This was to be our endgame!" He grabbed the Vehicon, mandhandling it, crushing it's arm! "It was ruined because_ someone _decided to step out of line, and activated the Omega Lock without authorization!!!" The mech bellowed. "And let it be known, that when I discover who it was that did this," he released the shrieking drone at last. Starscream didn't pity it. It wasn't him this time. "They will absolutely suffer!"_

 

* * *

 

"What's gotten you so worked up?" Starscream's helm snapped to the left, seeing Knockout lounging against a wall. "What? Simple question."

 

The Seeker huffed. "It's none of your concern, medic."

 

"Oh, "medic" eh? I thought we were friends." Knockout's sarcasm was not lost on the Seeker, who scoffed. 

 

"As if I would be close to a mech who worships a buffer like it was bestowed to him by Primus!" 

 

"Coming from  _you_ Starscream?" He smirked teasingly. "The mech who screams if a wingtip is bent out of place?"

 

"Hmph. Even by Seeker standards, the preening you submit yourself to daily is absolutely excessive. And I do  _not_ scream when a wingtip is bent. I haven't done anything like that in eons." 

 

"Mhm. Fight with Megatron?" 

 

"How could you  _ever_ guess?" 

 

"Oh, everyone heard actually. Wasn't hard to figure out." 

 

Starscream sighed. "I thought the worst was behind us. I thought that when this was over, we'd be able to return. Earth was the test, a little piece of land turned and that was it. But no. The Autobots had to get involved and now we were set back yet again! And now he wants to  _stay_ here,  _permanently_!" The Seeker's wings were pulled taut against his back. 

* * *

 

 

_"The Energon is fresh." Megatron marveled at the cube presented to him by a scouting party. They'd returned with cubes full of the fresh pools. No one had tasted fresh energon in millennia! "Where did you find this?!?"_

 

_"Not too far from here, in the canyon."  A Vehicon spoke up. "And other parties have found crystals, new ones, growing from the ground. They're huge!"_

 

_Megatron stroked his chin, tasting the substance again, then shoved the cube into Starscream's chest. "It would appear this was not a lost cause after all..."_

 

* * *

 

 

"Well Starscream, Shockwave can't exactly replicate the Omega Lock's chemicals again without the medic. Who, as we all know, escaped with the Autobots. So Cybertron is just out of the question. Get used to it." 

 

His wings sprang up in rage. "No. I  _was_ used to this! And then things got better. And now they're starting  _all over again_!" He shrieked at the medic.

 

Knockout didn't say a word. He'd learned to curb it when the SIC got this riled up. He also knew the deeper meaning as to what "things starting all over" meant. He'd been the attending physician to Starscream long enough to have seen it all. 

 

The Seeker ended his outburst with a huff. "I am leaving for a flight. If Megatron comes looking, say whatever you want. I do not care." 

 

"Don't worry. I'll leave out "you abandoned him" this time." The medic quipped back wryly. 

 

Starscream departed promptly, heading for the flight deck. The sun was setting, casting the world in a deep orange glow as darkness began to creep in. This time, it was as his race had once called, "the shadow of the sun". Seekers rose and fell with the sun. It was their comfort. Their constant. It warmed their wings and in the daylight, no harm could be done. That's what he once believed. 

 

He took a running leap off of the flight deck, diving through the air before transforming and soaring upwards. He relaxed, once he could fly. He had control up here, he was a mastery of this craft. No Decepticon here could fly like he could. None existed anymore who could challenge him. Although he felt initially at peace, a deep melancholy settled in as he glided through the air high above. He should have never given up the Keys. It was the worst mistake he'd made, next to ever falling in love with a piece of scrap like Megatron. His end of the bond was sealed off, not allowing the mech to know his location or what he was feeling. He always kept it clamped shut now. It was a bit of a strain but nothing he could handle. Yes. He regretted much. He regretted giving the Keys back to win favor with his monster of a mate. If he had kept them, if he had gotten back to Cybertron  _somehow_ , he could have brought it back to life. And in that life, there would be his kind: Seekers. He wanted it back. His culture, his home, but he had grown to believe it could never be. And then there was a chance. One flicker, a glimmer of hope. Once when the Omega Lock on Cybertron was activated. Twice when they were going to test their own Omega Lock. He had almost seen the end, the end in which he got everything back. Mostly, to some capacity, everything. 

 

It was stolen away twice. Starscream had been jaded a long time, but this added a new layer to his despise of Megatron and this forsaken war. It had taken his home, his trine, the  _love of his life..._ all it gave back to the Seeker was the inflammation of the worst of his traits, his illness resurfacing after centuries of therapy his caregivers coaxed him through. All it gave him was a bond he didn't want, and a growing numbness to it all. He'd always be as the humans called it, "bipolar", but this melancholy never left him anymore. He found himself thinking, over and over,  _what's the point?_

 

And then he saw her. 

 

Down below, he almost missed the dot making it's way in the twilight. He was almost so lost in his own spiraling thoughts that he may have missed it entirely. But the scream caught his audio receptors, shrill and desperate. He circled closer, just to see, and zoomed in. At first he thought it was an Autobot trick, or some Vehicon in dire straits that had gotten itself injured. But he saw the wings. He saw the familiar built and the sheer desperation in the face. 

 

_It was another Seeker._

 

Impulsively, he swooped downwards, towards the other and his processor raced a thousand miles a klik. How could this be?! How was there another Seeker?! Was this a trap, a trick to lure him out?! No. No it-  _she_ was real. She had collapsed, too tired to stand on her own. And the closer he got, he could see why that would be. She was covered in dents, cracks and fissures lines with rust and one of her wings was bent awkwardly. He could have winced. What sort of Pit had this femme crawled out from?!? 

 

He landed, and she looked absolutely relieved to see him. She spoke in human English, rapidly, much to Starscream's confusion. He turned on his translator and caught the tail-end of her rushed sentence- 

 

"- hurt or dead I don't know! They- I've been looking for _so long_ -!" 

 

He transformed abruptly, in an attempt to try and speak to the Seeker directly. All it did was shut her up, giving him the slack jawed shock that he'd seen many organics do before. 

 

"What-?" The femme began but her optics flickered and went black! "Frag!" The mech hissed, kneeling beside her and checked for signs of life. Thankfully, when rolling the unconscious femme onto her side, he could see the faint flickers of her spark behind it's casing. Immediately he opened a comm line and pinged an SOS. 

 

- _This is Commander Starscream! I have found an injured and unresponsive Cybertronian. Requesting medic immediately! Knockout if you can hear this get your sorry aft out here NOW-_

 

He waited anxiously for what felt like hours. It was only seconds. A groundbridge opened and Knockout stepped through with a sigh. 

 

"Now what-? Dear Primus!" His jaw dropped, much like the femme's had upon seeing her. 

 

"HELP HER!" The mech shrieked, standing up. 

 

"All right, all right!" He knelt down and looked her over before pressing on a line. "Energon is not pumping properly. Internals are damaged." He muttered and looked up. "Starscream get two Vehicons, I'm going to need help getting her into the med bay!" 

 

For once, much to the medic's surprise the Seeker didn't snarl something indignant about how he was above being ordered. He bolted into the still open groundbridge, and within seconds returned, dragging two hapless Vehicons out behind him with surprising strength. He almost pushed them into Knockout! "Pick her up, gently." He ordered them. They looked at her, looked at each other... "Well?!? Pick her up!!!" He demanded with a snarl to hide his anxiety. 

 

 _Finally,_ they complied and lifted the femme by her legs and shoulders, carrying her through the groundbridge and into the hall. Soundwave looked up from the manual groundbridge and froze, staring at the injured newcomer. He watched as the Vehicons passed, Knockout darting around them and past him, and went to unlock the medbay doors. "Inside! Now! Put her on that berth, gently!" 

 

Once that was done, he immediately got to work, grabbing his Crash Kit and numerous instruments. When the medic had to be, he was highly efficient. "Starscream, either come in and help me or leave! I'm not having you distract me!" He ordered when he saw Starscream linger in the doorway with Soundwave.

 

Starscream stepped back, allowing the door to shut and Knockout to do his work. Immediately, he turned on Soundwave. "Not a  _word_ of this goes to Megatron! Understood?! Not yet at least." 

 

The mech did not acknowledge his demand, just turning and going back to his post. 

 

Actual hours passed. Starscream paced by the door, waiting anxiously for any sign or result. A Seeker. An actual Seeker, after eons of nothing! What the frag was one doing on earth?!? It made no sense! There had been no alert, no frequencies hailed, no energy signature of a pod crashing, absolutely  _nothing!_ It was as if she'd popped out of thin air! 

 

Finally, Knockout opened the door. He had a strangely unreadable expression. "Well?!?" The mech demanded impatiently, staring at the medic. "Did she?!?"

 

"She's stable, if that's what you're getting at." 

 

Starscream's wings relaxed, a little. He then frowned. "What are you not telling me." 

 

"Come into the med bay. It's best if I show you." He motioned for him to follow. Starscream did so, shutting the med bay door behind him. He looked over at the stable, recharging femme. She was cleaned up, best to Knockout's ability. Vanity work would be done later. "How did you find her?" He asked.

 

"She had collapsed when I was passing by. Why? Do you think she's an Autobot?" 

 

"No. Not in the slightest. I don't even think she's Cybertronian."

 

"...  _What._ " 

 

Knockout took a pair of tweezers, and reached into a container off to the side. "I was cleaning out her damaged internals of debris, and I found  _this_ in her subspace." He lifted up a tiny, grey-white blob. Starscream had to zoom in to get a better look at it. Mottled with metal, it's initial shape was hard to make out at first, and then he realized what it was. "A stuffed toy?" 

 

The medic nodded. "Human sized."

 

"No. She spoke to me. She cannot be a human! They've all been grounders, insane-!" 

 

"Shockwave managed to get some scans on one, and I did my own when I found the toy. She's completely sane, the first Cyberformed Human we've seen who's lasted this long. And I think I know why." He pulled up the scan. "Her processor unit does not have a few key boards and circuits that are properly working, the intricate bits, the ones that deal with spark-processor emotional data and sensory feedback. I'm thinking Central Processing Disorder. I'm no psycho-analyst or mnemnosurgeon though." 

 

He waited for Starscream to recoil, to become disgusted. CPD was a permanent processor malfunction, in which very delicate wires that were extremely important did not fire properly, inhibiting data input and output. It sounded bad, but all it meant was that she ran "at a different capacity" than they did. And it was never as severe as some may have thought. But, there were many on Cybertron who shunned those afflicted and he was certain Starscream may do the same. 

 

What the mech did next was something Knockout never expected from the moody Seeker. A look crossed his faceplate, one the medic would later identify as concern, and he placed a spindly servo over the femme's. He stayed like that a long moment, silent and almost unreadable. And then he straightened himself, pulling away and stepping back. "Inform me when she awakens." Was all he demanded before departing.

 

Knockout blinked in shock, and then sighed and shrugged. "Unpredictable, as always." He muttered, and then lifted up the toy to examine it again. "Hm. I wonder why this was so special to you..." he eyed the femme.

 

* * *

 

 

_Her favorite uncle was leaving, and she was absolutely upset. Uncle Max was loads of fun. He didn't mind her chattering away about polar bears, or volcanoes, or whatever she was hyper-focused on at the moment. He always wanted to play whatever she wanted to play, or watch TV with her. He was more fun than any of her classmates! He didn't pick on her for being weird or having- whatever her parents said she had. The name was hard to remember._

 

_"Why do you hafta go?" She crossed her arms, standing inside, away from the noise and bustle of the party as she stared up at the blurry face. "It's not fair Uncle Max!"_

 

_"I know, I know. But I was called up, so I have to go. I'm gonna miss you though." He smiled, but she was still unhappy and mad at him for deciding to leave without telling her. The seven year old wasn't having it. She stomped her foot._

 

_"You said you'd stick with me! I'll have no one to visit or play with! I'll be alone an' I don't wanna be!" She had begun to cry. Even if she was supposed to be a big girl now, she couldn't help it._

 

_"You're not going to be alone forever. And I'll be back!" He knelt down, but kept a fair distance from her. "Hey, c'mon. I know you're mad at me. Life throws stuff like this at us though. You gotta learn to roll with the punches!" She refused to look at him, tears rolling down her plump cheeks. Uncle Max sighed. "... I got you something. An early birthday present. Stay put." His heavy boots hit the linoleum as he left her to sit and stew in her sadness and anger. She peered outside. Why was everyone so happy? Why were they throwing a party? Uncle Max was leaving! It wasn't supposed to be happy! Everyone was supposed to be crying and sad. Everyone was supposed to miss Uncle Max...!_

 

_"Here." He set the wrapped box down, purple wrapping paper glittering in the sunlight. "Open it up."_

 

_Huffing, she did so, yanking off the paper carelessly, and then lifted the box lid. She froze, and her watery eyes lit up. Inside was a big white polar bear! She let out a shriek of delight and grabbed it, bouncing up and down happily. "I love it I love it I love it I love it!!!" She rocked herself and then paused. "It's mine to keep?"_

 

_"Yours to keep. Your very own polar bear." He grinned. He reached out, wiping away her tear. "No tears okay? I'll be back in a year. But it'll keep you company, and you won't be alone as long as it's beside you. Just don't bring it to school. Mean kids tend to pick on the good ones for that. Got me?"_

 

_"Yeah. I won't. She's not ever gonna get wrecked! She'll stay nice 'n safe until you get back!" She cuddled the bear close as her Uncle Max stood. He looked weird in those green clothes they always gave him._

 

_He never came back. Maxwell Bekham was killed in the line of duty on January 23rd, 2002. On the day he was supposed to come back, the family attended the funeral. The whole time, she clung onto the bear. She clung onto it, through childhood, into her teen years, into her first year of university. Even as the world fell apart, literally._

_  
She didn't want to be alone, ever._

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little sad stuff at the end. I at least tried to make it sad. I have a cold, it's midnight, I honestly forgot what emotions felt like 2 hours ago. Oh well. 
> 
> Next Chapter: Autobots and a little more clarification!


	3. Raf and Miko/Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: major character death, gore, body horror, depression, violence and overall mega angst

* * *

 

 "Come on, try again."

 

Miko gagged violently as she tried to ingest the energon provided. "God this stuff tastes awful!" 

 

"Sorry kiddo. We don't have any more additives to make it sweeter." Bulkhead tried to comfort his charge. "Do you uh, want to try the drip again-?"

 

"No." The femme barked, and then paused. "Sorry, uhm, no. I don't." 

 

"It's okay. I- ah, I'll check again, see if we have any left." Bulkhead rose and walked away from his charge, who stared at the glowing blue cube with sadness and hatred. He couldn't even imagine what she was going through right now, trying to take to energon after eating varied, delicious foods her whole life.

 

* * *

 

_The Autobots made it back to their base, only to find to their horror, it decimated. There was no sign of the humans._

 

_"JACK!" Arcee called out, rushing into the ruined hangar, beginning to try and lift the rubble. "JACK CAN YOU HEAR ME!?!"_

 

_"MIKO!!!" Bulkhead was having a better time clearing up the debris. Though in varying stages of injured, the Autobots flocked to help recover their human comrades. At first, Bulkhead thought he was seeing things. A servo was exposed when he moved a large chunk of rubble, silver with pink kibble. He froze, resetting his optics, and his spark surged when it moved. "HERE!" He bellowed, beginning to frantically remove the rest of the wreckage. Bumblebee scrambled over the ruins and helped his comrade moved the rest, and both audibly gasped in shock and horror._

_  
Miko, it had to be her, was laying unconscious beneath the debris. But, it wasn't Miko. She wasn't organic. Bulkhead's spark sank into his refuel tank. "Oh Primus. No." Even someone like him, dumber than a brick could piece together what happened. The Omega Lock didn't just cyberform earth... it cyberformed the humans! He picked up the- the femme- that's what she was now, and checked for damage. Little besides dents and an obviously big one on her helm.  _

 

_"Raf!" Bumblebee gasped, unearthing the boy, who was almost buried beside his friend. He gently pulled out the unconscious... mini-bot. Oh Primus. That meant Jack-!_

 

_Arcee's horrified scream echoed across the ruins. "NO!!!"_

 

_They turned around as the femme stared down at whatever she had unearthed, a look of horror on her face. She only wore it when Cliffjumper and Tailgate had both-..._

 

_Oh no._

 

_Both Bulkhead and Bumblebee teetered across the debris, finding an unconcious June Darby -also cyberformed- beside a mangled, disturbing sight._

 

_The corpse of Jack Darby was laying there, hand reaching upwards as if to stop the Omega Lock. It appeared as though he had gotten stuck midway through. His skin was cracked and dried blood lined where metal met flesh.  One of his eyes had turned into an optic, bulging out of the socket. The other was partially destroyed. It was a sickening sight for any human or Cybertronian to look upon. It made Bulkhead's hatred of Megatron grow deeper._

 

_"JACK!" Arcee screamed as she was pulled away by Ultra Magnus. "JACK! JAAAAACK!"_

* * *

 

 

"Come now." Ratchet was trying to help Raf refuel himself. "Try again." 

 

The mini-bot tried, but ended up gagging himself, and his optics swam with tears. "I'm sorry Ratchet! I'm trying I- I swear I'm-!"

 

"No, no. You're fine. You're doing all you can. Just a little bit more." The old medic murmured, rubbing his shoulder plate tenderly and fatherly. He looked up as Bulkhead approached. 

 

"I found two more packets of sweetner." He handed one to Ratchet. "Sorry Doc Bot."

 

"I'll try to see if I can replicate more."

 

Raf looked at the purple box and sighed. "I- I can try to, just take a little this time. I need to get used to the taste."

 

"It's all right." Ratchet comforted the youngling. "I don't expect it to grow on you so fast. We'll try to make more sweetner." 

 

Bulkhead's spark shattered as he watched Raf break down crying again. The little guy was finding it hard to adjust to it all. 

 

* * *

 

 

_Screams of fear echoed in the reconstructed medbay. Their third, final outpost was in an old military base called "Area 51". Thankfully it was not in as much ruin as the second location was. They managed to get the three survivors into the medbay, while the injured were looked after._

 

_Eventually, though, they had to come online._

 

_"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!?" Miko shrieked in terror, staring at her hands. Bulkhead was holding her, restraining her, keeping the femme from hurting herself. "I- BULKHEAD- WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!??!"_

 

_Raf was screaming and bawling, Bumblebee holding him as well, but in comfort. Nurse Darby -June- she was the only silent one. When her own scream of terror had subsided, she had looked at Ratchet and asked only one thing:_

_  
"Where's Jack?"_

 

_Her faceplate revealed the knowing shellshock as she sat there, silent, unable to absorb that her only son was gone. She was left alive. Agent Fowler hadn't survived either._

 

_"CHANGE ME BACK! PLEASE BULKHEAD PLEASE CHANGE ME BAAAAACK!!!" The femme wailed and scratched at his arms, kicking and sobbing as she processed the change. Bulkhead didn't say a thing. He just held on, and silently cried with her._

 

* * *

 

 

 "How's she doing?" Bulkhead asked Arcee, who was stationed outside of the small room where June was. 

 

"Hasn't left." She told Bulkhead, not making any eye contact. 

 

"Ratchet sent me with her cube." He held it out and Arcee took it with a sigh.

 

"I'll see if she wants it. What about the others?"

 

"Still ah, still trying to down theirs. We ran out of sweetner." He looked down the hall, where the main room was. "Bee and Smokey should be back soon. They'll probably be happy to relieve you-"

 

"Pass." Arcee said quickly and sharply. She then added, "June isn't, all there still. We're both grieving. I don't think the others can relate to losing Jack. No offence."

 

"None taken." Bulkhead nodded solemnly. "I'll bring your own in a bit." 

 

He walked away, sighing and shaking his helm. 

* * *

 

 

_"There are others?" Ratchet sounded shocked._

 

_"Not everyone died apparently. Maybe fifty-fifty." Smokescreen said as the Autobots reconvened. A scouting mission back to Jasper had turned up some surprising results. "We brought them back here. They'll be down in a minute."_

 

_"So, that confirms it. The Omega Lock did Cyberform humans. It transformed their biology into cyber-autonomy. How?" Ultra Magnus looked at the medic._

 

_"What-? I have no idea!" He sputtered. "I barely know how I finished the formula in the first place, let alone how Shockwave developed it! All I know it that it turns organic matter into cyber-matter!"_

 

_"That's not the point." Bumblebee, with his new voice spoke up. "There are survivors. But, there's something else." He showed his arm, where a deep scratch was. It thankfully didn't cause any leaks. "Some of them acted... insane. It's like their bodies turned, but there's no one home. They're rabid, reactionary and- and-"_

 

_  
"Feral." Smokescreen added. "Like those Zombie-Cons Bee told me about."_

 

_Optimus weighed in on their conversation. "Our top priority for now, is to find sane survivors, and bring them here before Megatron or any of the Decepticons can discover what we have learned. They will need shelter and assistance in learning how to cope with their new forms. It is our duty to see that both these needs are taken care of."_

* * *

 

 

The total thus far were five survivors. Three adults, two younglings. The adults gave their names -Tom, Henry and Leona-  and so did the younglings -Sierra and Wayne- when they arrived. They had all said the same thing; a green flash had been seen on the horizon seconds before they were coated in the Omega Lock's cybermatter. All had been displaced after Megatron destroyed the town. 

 

Sierra was in school with Wayne when it happened. Henry and his wife Leona were driving back to their farm. Tom was out for a walk with his dogs. The humans had been going through their normal, everyday lives, and the cataclysm left their family and friends all dead. Out of the 2,000 residents in Jasper, Nevada, 20 had survived. Fifteen had gone feral. With those odds, maybe only 10% of the human race survived when they were transformed. Maybe even less held onto their sanity. All of them, save for Sierra, were grounders. Sierra was a jet-build, basic but still capable of flight. He walked into the room where the berths were laid out, and looked around at the survivors. 

 

Henry and Leona were cuddled together, sharing one berth. Sierra and Wayne were talking quietly together, while Tom tried to drink his own ration of energon. He kept coughing and uttering human swears. 

 

"Ah, hey." The mech called out awkwardly. All optics fixated on him. "I just uh, wanted to see how you're all holding up."

 

"How do you  _think_?!" Tom hissed, plating flattening against his frame defensively. "This swill is fucking disgusting!" He threw it down, making everyone jump as the cube shattered and energon spilled everywhere. "Two months of drinking this crap, two months of sitting around and waiting for absolutely  _nothing_ and you're telling us that this is the way we gotta be now! I used to have fucking  _steak_ with my  _girlfriend,_ who I had to  _bury_ two months ago!!!" He stood up, aggressive now. "Leona and Henry can't even fuck because they don't understand their goddamn  _bodies_ anymore!"

 

"Tom!" Henry hissed in mortification. 

 

"I can't even take a shit anymore! This is fucking insane, ain't normal! So how do you fucking think we're fucking holding up?!?" Bulkhead again went quiet. "Yeah. That's what I thought, bastard." 

 

"Tom, you made your point. Sit down." Henry demanded sternly. Begrudgingly, Tom obeyed. "I'm sorry. We're all a little, tense." 

 

"... Ratchet is ah, trying to fix up some old datapads. It'll give you guys some more answers, and something to do. If- really if there's anything I can-"

 

"You've done enough." Leona cut in quickly. "Really." 

 

The tension and animosity could be felt within the room, and Bulkhead chose to not press it further. He left, going back to where Miko and Raf were. As he doubled back down the hall, he heard a screech and froze. What the-?

 

"Arcee?!" He called out, seeing the femme was missing from her post. He ran over, to the open door, and found to his horror his comrade being pinned and strangled by June! "ARCEE!" The mech bellowed and grabbed the white and teal femme, who shrieked bizarrely and clawed at his servo. She managed to swing and catch his optic, making the mech roar in pain and almost drop her. He managed to get her into a hold where she could not bite, nor claw him. 

 

"Arcee are you okay?" Bulkhead asked, optic glitching in and out. Warnings of a large leak in his HUD flashed, and he grimaced. 

 

"I'm- I'll be fine." Arcee staggered up. June snarled wordlessly, fighting like a wild animal against Bulkhead's grasp. "... June- no. I've been watching her. I've been  _talking_ to her!" The femme's voice cracked. "She couldn't have turned feral!" 

 

"... Go get Ratchet. We need to figure out what to do." 

 

* * *

 

 

_"June?" Optimus called out, and knocked on her door. "May I enter?"  There was no answer. Arcee sighed._

 

_"She's been like this for a week."_

 

_"Has she touched her rations?"_

 

_"A little. When I'm in the room-"_

 

_Both were cut off as June opened the door. "I'm not deaf." The woman-turned-femme looked absolutely drained. "And I actually drank this one." She held out the empty cube as proof._

 

_"I wanted to see how you were doing."_

 

_"I'm, tired Optimus." She sighed, doing the human habit of pinching were her nose would have been. "I'd rather not be disturbed. Please."_

 

_"... We found a place to bury Jack." The Prime told her quietly, at last._

 

_"Thank you. But I'm not going to go."_

 

_"June-" Arcee began to protest but the femme turned to her, plating expanding._

 

 _"My answer is_ no,  _Arcee! I'm not-" She inhaled sharply. "I cannot, look at my son. He was the last thing I had. And now, he's gone, and I'd rather just grieve in solitude awhile. Okay?"_

 

_"Very well. But June, if you require-"_

 

_"Optimus."_

 

_"... Rest well, June." He murmured as she shut the door. He looked at Arcee. "Stay with her. I want to be certain she, does not take drastic measures."_

 

_"Understood." Arcee acknowledged his command as the Prime left. She eyed the door, her own faceplate softening in empathetic sorrow. She'd stay with June, as long as it took for her to process her anguish._

 

* * *

 

 

 

June had to be put into medical stasis. It was an unfortunate, but necessary thing to do for her. There was no telling how far gone she'd been, or for how long. Arcee's dented neck cables were looked after, and Bulkhead's injured optic was attended to as well. 

 

"Thankfully, neither wound is deep." Ratchet chuffed, finishing his mending and set his equipment aside. He looked at the berth at the end of the room, where the femme lay, lost to the world. "And yet, some wounds are even deeper than what I can mend."

 

"Do- is there any way you can, help her?" Raf asked, sitting nearby and looking at his deceased friend's mother. 

 

"Unfortunately, I don't know. I am no mnemnosurgeon. I am unsure if her condition is unique, or if this is how all the, "feral" cyberformed humans started out. I don't even know if-" Ratchet stopped himself. But Raf caught the implication. His optics widened in fear. "No. No, I don't know, like I said." Ratchet quickly tried to recant his words and reassure the mini-bot youngling, but he was already beginning to cry again.

 

"Am I going to end up like Ms. Darby?" He hiccuped, vocalizer stuttering out in a sob. 

 

"I don't know!" Ratchet exclaimed. "I- I don't know... hush. Hush." He murmured and pulled the weeping Raf close in a comforting hug. "I will not stop until I find out some way to help heal her. I promise." 

 

Bulkhead and Arcee shared a look. Promises could be absolutely shallow. Promises could easily be broken. Bulkhead left a few moments later, deciding to go and check on Miko. The youngling was still at the table, her energon half finished.

 

"You didn't touch your sweetner." The mech noted. 

 

"I'm not hungry." Miko murmured, pushing it away. Bulkhead sighed, and then thought of something.

 

"If, I can find the right materials, I may be able to make goodies. They're, probably not going to be like the candy you're used to but, they were a luxury way of refueling! Maybe we can-!"

 

"Bulkhead." Miko interrupted her guardian. "I'm, happy you're trying. But you don't have to try so hard. I- I don't, expect much. I just- I don't know why-" She tried to voice what she was feeling, but she was conflicted, unsure, and like every human-turned-Cybertronian present, depressed. 

 

"I know. It's okay to feel like that." He reassured softly. He wasn't sure what exactly she was feeling, but it was better to deal with it and just, be there for her. She was like a sparkling he'd never had. He wanted to make sure she could thrive in this new, strange world. 

 

But the fallout was proving more disastrous than any of them had intended. As Miko broke down, silently crying into her folded arms, and Bulkhead rubbed her backplates soothingly, he knew. Even though some of the humans did survive, they weren't coping well, barely coping in fact. And, there may be truth to Ratchet's words. 

 

Maybe June was the precursor to a greater calamity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. I unloaded a ton of angst onto everyone. Hope I captured everything just right.
> 
> Up next: Our protagonist wakes up in the medbay...


	4. Wake Up/Runaway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: mild violence, mentions of abuse, mentions of sexual assault, and Megatron just being a bastard even if his appearance is brief

* * *

 

 

Like before, her eyes snapped open and she gasped for air, though she lacked lungs. She tried to sit up, confused and alarmed, but felt a searing pain in her arm and looked down in confusion, seeing her arm -her metal arm- with what looked an IV drip in it. She grimaced, and looked around, trying not to move too much. She was in some kind of hospital-looking room, an ER maybe? Was- was she just hallucinating? Where was everyone?

 

"Hello...?" Her call was cautious, ready to bolt at the first sign of danger. She looked away after a long moment, reaching for the IV to try and pull it out-

 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." 

 

The voice made her jump and she twisted her helm around, seeing a red robot staring at her. He leaned casually against one of the berths. She hadn't even seen him come in! "Relax. I'm not going to bite." 

 

"You- you speak English." 

 

"Well. I'm well-versed in all of Earth's languages," the red robot chuckled as if it was a simple feat, "but I rarely have the chance to practice it." 

 

"You're like me." 

 

He snorted. "Why aren't you Captain Obvious? Yes, I'm much like you." He walked over. "You and I are, in fact, the same species. At least now anyway. Now hold still. You jostled this thing loose." The robot took her arm, and fixed the tube going into her arm, which had the strange blue liquid she'd seen in pools flowing into it.

 

"What are you?" 

 

"I'm what you humans would obviously call a "robot", although that  _is_ a little offensive considering I'm smarter than those your species built. I am an autonomous cybernetic organism. A "Cybertronian", if you please. An alien if we want to get even more specific." 

 

"Okay. You're an alien ro- 'scuse me, an alien  _cybernetic_ being." She recounted.

 

"You catch on quick." His remark was dry as he checked something. 

 

"We- we're the same, then. You said we are. I'm- what  _you_ are now-"

 

"Knockout."

 

The femme turned towards the new voice, and saw another robot- another  _Cybertronian_ standing there. Until he got closer, only then she could make out exactly who she was staring at. To her shock, it was like looking in a mirror! They had a similar build (although she was thicker in mass), from the metal plating making their bodies, to the wings that seemed to move constantly, right down to the claws that both possessed. Even their optics were big, wide to the world. Their only difference was color. He-  _she_ -? They were silver trimmed with red. She was dark blue, trimmed with black and grey. Their faces too, when he got close enough so that she could see clearer, differed. His was narrow, and he had a single red piece of metal pointing upwards, like a streak. And his eyebrows!  _God,_ they were  _huge!_  Her face was forever soft and round, two black pieces of metal stretching horizontal across her forehead, curving like a stretched out "S". She supposed Cybertronians didn't need hair, being giant mechanical aliens or something. 

 

"I'd rather be the one to tell her." His voice sounded like he'd chain smoked two packs a day since birth with it's deep rasp. 

 

Knockout, the red Cybertronian who was some kind of doctor or nurse, sighed and nodded. "All right, all right. I never pegged you as the  _responsible_ sort, Starscream." 

 

Starscream (man these guys had weird names!) scoffed. "Please. She's a Seeker, like me! It's my duty, as Prince, to get her sorted out on these matters. I can't have a grounder like yourself  _completely_ explain it all! You'd leave out everything important." 

 

With another sigh, the now exhausted-looking Cybertronian conceded. "Fine, fine! Just, get on with it. Megatron isn't going to be oblivious to her existence  _forever_ you know!" 

 

"Mega- who?" She chose to ask, unsure. Was that their boss? Or, one of their bosses? Another doctor? 

 

"All in due time. First and foremost, I am certain you have many questions. All of which will be answered. Our resident medic already told you that we are, as you humans call us "aliens" correct?" When she nodded, he continued, "And of course you are wondering just how you got to be this way and whatnot. Well. That's  _also_ in due time!" His wings lifted themselves, fanning out like a peacock's tail feathers. Was it just her, or did Starscream actually resemble one of those albino peacocks? She had mad Lord Shen vibes coming from this guy! 

 

It felt like she was also playing twenty questions. "Your, point being?" 

 

"Obviously you have questions regarding our origins, and why we are here." 

 

"Yeah. I kinda do." 

 

"We Cybertronians hail from a planet, vastly different than yours and billions of light years away from this former... muckball. It was Cybertron, our home for eons before the War. I am the Second in Command of a faction that desired change, and freedom against an oppressive system that ruled our society for far too long! But of course, it's corruption had seeped into the minds and sparks of many, who desired to keep things the same. And that's where the Autobots, our mortal enemies-"

 

"There are more of you?!" Her optics lit up. 

 

Starscream sneered, and she fell quiet again. " _Yes,_ there are. But no one you need to fraternize yourself with! They are our,  _once more_ , mortal enemies. They wish to see our War ended with our entire destruction. Of course, this War has already destroyed enough. It destroyed Cybertron." The small gasp of horror she emitted was either noticed and ignored or not heard. "And so, we fled to the stars, to the galaxies and beyond in which we tried to colonize. But none held the resources, the finite needs that our species required! Until, your world of course. We have been hidden on your planet for many, many decades, waging our War in secret. Until sixty-one solar cycles ago. There was to be a climax to our conflict. The Omega Lock was going to restore our planet, our home, and we could finally return and leave this place behind! But, there was an, accident; an accident which resulted in your species, more or less ending up the way they are now." He made a circular motion with his hand to emphasize his point.

 

"It- what happened- it was an accident?  _You_ did this?!?" Her wings lifted themselves high up her back. 

 

"Did you not hear my-?"

 

"Change me back. Now."

 

"What?"

 

 _"Change me back RIGHT now!"_ The femme demanded insistently. "I've been searching for freaking months to try and find someone to help change everyone back! They- they might be dead but this isn't right or normal!" She slid onto her knees, lurching close to the mech's face and grasped his shoulders desperately before he could move away, pulling him close. "I want to be human again goddammit! And earth wasn't supposed to be like this! You made a mess, fix it!!!!" 

 

Starscream pushed away from her after a long moment, all signs of confidence and puffed-up pride gone. He looked, deflated. "... Can't you fix it?" 

 

"We- that, is not possible." He told her. His words were like an ice pick through her heart. "Unfortunately, the medic that was a part of the construction of this formula is no longer with us. And he will not be returning any time soon." 

 

"You- there's absolutely no way...?" Her eyes filled with tears. 

 

"Did you not hear me?!" 

 

"It was all for nothing...?" She curled in on herself. "It- I kept going and there's nothing-!? I shouldn't have-! It- it's not fair-! it's not fair-! It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair-!!!" She gripped her helm as electric sparks started to course across it. _"It's not fair it's not fair it's not fair it's not-!!!"_

 

"Femme-?"

 

" **CHANGE! ME! BACK!** " She exploded, sudden and hysterically, like a timer had gone off! "IT'S NOT FAIR! YOU DID THIS TO ME! CHANGE ME BACK! YOU NEED TO CHANGE ME BACK PLEASE CHANGE ME BACK!!!" She screamed at Starscream, lunging to grab him again but Knockout stepped in this time.

 

He pushed her with surprising strength onto her back, holding her down as she clawed and screamed in anger and anguish. "LET GO!!! LET GO LET-!" Before she had time to further react, she felt a wallop of something heavy hitting her mind, and she felt time slow down. Her eyed drooped, her words slurred, and then everything went black. 

 

xXx

 

"Primus frag-it-all!" Knockout cursed as he saw the scratch marks left in his paint. "Those  _do not_ buff out!" 

 

"Save it." Starscream snapped, fixated on the drugged femme. "How long will she be out again?" 

 

"Given the dose I just injected her with, she'll be out a good six-to-twelve earth hours." Knockout sighed. "It'll be long enough to fix my paint, at least." 

 

"Inform me when she is online again."

 

"What-? Are you insane, Starscream?! That femme would have strangled you if I hadn't intervened!"

 

"She had a processor-meltdown. I can handle them perfectly well enough! And I doubt she would have _strangled_ me." The Seeker huffed and rolled his shoulderplates. 

 

"Ah yes. I forgot. That one trinemate of yours had what she has, didn't he? I never took him as the "violent outburst" sort though."

 

"If Cybertron had suddenly been eradicated overnight, instead of gradually, would you have not acted the same?" 

 

Knockout's jaw dropped. "Excuse me, am I speaking to  _Starscream_ here? Callous, cowardly, pompous,  _doesn't-give-a-frag-about-anyone-but-himself_ Starscream?!?" 

 

"I have more than those traits, you know!" He snapped defensively. "Besides. Seekers flock together. It is our natural biology."

 

"I'm sorry. I'm having a very rough time even processing the idea that  _you, Starscream_ , give two scraps about a nameless former human you met  _yesterday_." 

 

"Again. I have more than those traits. I do in fact care and show that I do when I deem it appropriate! Although in this Primus-forsaken War, there is little to care about asides from your own back plates." He added the last sentence with a bitter tone that matched the taste in his mouth. "And don't go spreading around that I am showing a little compassion to a fellow Seeker! I would like to keep my status,  _thank you_. It's how mecha like you and I survive this long, acting weaker and less of a threat than-!"

 

"Than what exactly,  _Starscream_?" Megatron stood in the open door frame of the medical bay. "Because you have, unfortunately proven to be  _enough_ of one that I must constantly keep tabs on you. What are you and Knockout scheming about now-?" He cut himself off as his optics landed upon the femme. "... Who. Is that?" 

 

"Ah- we were just-!" Knockout began to nervously explain but Starscream stepped up to the plate.

 

"Apologies, master. I found her at our borders, clinging to life, and saw it fit to show her mercy. Seekers  _are_ in short supply after all-" 

 

"Is she not feral?" Was his next interruption.

 

Starscream hesitated a moment, then spoke. " _No._ She is not, my lord." He bit out. 

 

"I see. As soon as she comes around, I want her usefulness proven. We need all the assistance we can get with the construction of Dark Mount." He grinned, revealing his sharpened denta. "And I expect her to help, as you should also be Starscream, regardless. Am I clear?" 

 

"Yes. Master."

 

"Good. I want to see you privately, at my quarters.  _Our discussion from before is_ not  _over._ " The Warlord turned and departed.

 

Triple-checking he was gone, the Seeker sighed in anxiety and anger. "That blasted, infuriating-!"

 

"Easy Starscream, you may blow a vital line with all that stress." Knockout pointed out wryly. 

 

"You have absolutely  _no_ idea what it is like to be bonded to that mech! I am either a punching bag or a frag toy, a valve with wings or a practice dummy with a mouth!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms upwards, fuming. "What was I thinking, ever bonding to  _him_?!?" Knockout chose to be quiet and let Starscream air his grievances. Now was not the time to be snarky. "Even more so now. Every time things change, I am treated as we first met! And then one little screw up,  _one_ , and suddenly I am the one to blame! This is an outrage. How  _dare_ he-?!" The mech snarled. "I lead the Decepticons for  _three full earth rotations_ while he gallivanted off into space and the Autobots were none the wiser! I snuffed out  _Cliff_ _jumper_ , that wretch who killed Acid Rain and Sunstorm! I give him my all and he- he treats me as though I am nothing but a nuisance, or only useful to let his frustrations out...!" His screeches turned gradually into quiet sobs. 

 

Knockout recoiled. Now he  _really_ was seeing everything! He had been looking after the numerous dents, gashes, and misaligned joints from beatings for eons. He'd been also dealing with the valve tears that seemed to be a regular occurrence for that long. In all that time, he'd never witnessed Starscream break down like this. His pride never allowed for it! Perhaps times were ending! 

 

"I'll leave him!" Starscream hissed with sudden renewed fury. His moods shifted as quick as the gears on that Autobot Blur! "I swear, I will  _leave_ him and this time I will not be back! To the Pits of Unicron with this War! This- this futile skirmish that has taken  _everything_ from me-!!!" 

 

"Starscream," Knockout said with more gentleness he ever thought he could possess for anyone beyond Breakdown, "vent." 

 

"DO NOT TELL ME TO VENT! I WILL LEAVE MEGATRON, AND THIS WAR, ONCE AND FOR ALL!" 

 

"Do I need to put you out like I did with the femme?" 

 

Those words did only a little to calm the mech. "No, _you do not!_ Knockout, what you need to do is help me get out of here! I need to leave! I need to run away!" He insisted.  "I need to get away from Megatron and- and all of this- everything before it _kills_ me!" 

 

"Starscream, listen to yourself. You cannot just up and leave! Last time you left, you barely survived on your own and had to keep sneaking back here for energon." The shocked look the Seeker possessed made Knockout sigh. "Yes, I  _know_ about your little raids, and trading information with the Autobots to be attended to when you also lost your T-Cog! Starscream, you are many things. You are more complex than I at least thought, but you are extremely impulsive when you get like this. Until you  _actually_ have a solid plan to leave, I am not helping you." 

 

"You- you want to help?" 

  
The medic sighed. "I may have gotten my revenge for Breakdown, but, the fact that he is not here and it was on Megatron's orders that he-... ended up, like that," the mech winced visibly, "I don't necessarily want to stay here myself. But talking like this, out loud is treason. And with our leader so dependent on the blood of Unicron, which makes him twice as volatile as he  _ever_ was, he'd sooner snuff us out with the slightest reason to." 

 

Okay, Knockout would admit that even if Starscream was in some kind of hysteria, his fear was founded. How long until Megatron returned to his old ways, or grew even worse? Starscream, with all of his attitude and track record, would end up walking a very thin line between setting off his mate and placating him. He already  _was_ doing that! "We'll talk more later. But keep it to yourself, for Primus sake!"

 

The heavy vents that Starscream had been taking in had diminished. "... thank you, Knockout." He eyed the empty doorway as if he expected his mate to pop out and strangle him. "Just, inform me when she awakens. Again." 

 

"I will." The medic sighed. "If you want to go for another flight, I'll cover-"

 

"No." Starscream sighed himself. "That will just, make him all the more angrier. I have to go, face my humility sooner than later. It'll be better for me if I do." And with that, the Seeker exited the med bay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I'm updating this thing fast. Wait'll I run out of steam though. Then updates will be absolutely non-existent. Also Starscream, in this I'm headcannoning has the Cybertronian equivalent of Borderline Personality Disorder though his works differently. I have friends who have it, but of course it differs for everything. I'm probably making him more OOC, but hey, it's fanfiction. You can have some fun right? 
> 
> Up next: The Autobots receive a transmission... from who?


	5. Nature, Nurture, Heaven and Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: Violence, mention of death, just angst in general.

* * *

 

 

".. braved the forest, braved the stone," Leona sang softly as she cuddled up to her husband. The lights were out. The Autobots were trying to help give the survivors some sense of time, something they were used to. "Braved the icy winds and fire. Braved and beat them on my own, yet I'm helpless by the River." Henry stroked her head, fingers drifting through the air. Though, with his eyes shut, he could almost pretend that her scalp wasn't metallic, and that they were both flesh and bone again. The two old hippies had seen much in their thirty years together, but this had to be the toughest thing they'd been through yet.

 

Henry, in his mind, listened to his wife sing, and pretended that they were in bed together. That, some catastrophic event hadn't left them in bodies they couldn't understand and barely could control. "Angel, angel, what have I done? I've faced the quakes, the wind, the fire..." Leona sang, sounding exactly the same as she had three months prior. "I've conquered country, crown, and throne, yet I'm helpless by the River..." 

 

He pretended that she was human again, they both were; him grey, creases around his eyes and a little fat where his muscles used to be. His fingers now drifted through his wife's long, grey hair, her tanned skin speckled with freckles and stretched with laugh lines. He could hear their wind chime rattling in the breeze, the distant sound of bees pollinating their blueberry crop, birds singing "goodnight" to each other as the world faded to dusk on their ranch. That's where they were. This was all a dream. It was another day in paradise for them. Sunny, their daughter, would be calling them soon. She'd update them on how far along their third grandchild was from all the way out in New York City. The porch swing creaked beneath them as they basked in the twilight, safe and happy on their little patch of heaven. 

 

"Will you keep it down?!" The angry bark from Tom snapped Henry from his daydream; he was ripped from his mind, and drawn back into this harsh reality they shared. "I'm trying to fucking sleep!" 

 

"Tom, there's no need for that language with children around." Leona, ever soft spoken but firm told him chidingly. "But I'll stop. I'm sorry to bother you." 

 

"Feh. Whatever. Just, gonna try and sleep. Keep it down." He rolled over on the slabs that they were given, called "berths". "Beds" by human translation, and one would suppose the metal would be uncomfortable. One would be right. They weren't soft or springy like mattresses, and they had no blankets or pillows. It was much like sleeping on a fishing cot, which thankfully Leona and Henry were used to what with being farmers and outdoorsy. But they were old. They were used to human needs such as blankets and pillows. So were Tom, Wayne and Sierra. 

 

They were all having trouble sleeping still, all restless and antsy. The mundane days and nights blended together. It felt like their sanity was ever-so-slowly being chipped away. The sound of footsteps made Leona and Henry look up, and they met a smaller pair of bright blue. The little one, Rafael, had been with their saviours and watchers since he was human. He'd spoken little to them, glued by the doctor's side or that yellow and blacked striped fella. What was his name? 

 

"Can't sleep?" Leona cooed at the boy. He nodded, tiredly. "You can stay in here. Don't mind Tom, he's a mite cranky." Tom harrumphed from his berth, but didn't say anything. Rafael crawled into the berth, between Henry and Leona, still quiet. "Want me to rub your back? It always helped our children and grandchildren relax when they couldn't sleep." He nodded, and soothingly she rubbed the middle of his back in slow, gentle circles.

 

Henry stayed quiet, but smiled. Leona was always the nurturing type. Their children had grown to be empathetic and conscious of others, always wanting to help and do good. He sighed a little. "You know," he chose to speak softly, "we have- we  _had_ a grandson about your age." 

 

"How, old was he?" Rafael asked in his own almost whisper. It almost startled the pair, since the little guy didn't say much. 

 

"Thirteen. What sort of things did you like to do young man?" 

 

"I, I liked machines and computers. I understand them. I helped the Autobots with human technology a- a little even." 

 

"You're a very smart lad then. That's good. What with the way we are now, especially. All mechanics and hardware that us old geezers don't quite understand."

 

"I- I'm having a hard time understanding too. Don't worry."

 

"Our grandson loved music." Leona spoke next. "Wesley was very talented on the guitar."

 

"Do- do you miss your family?"

 

"Every day." Henry nodded, trying to keep himself from crying. "Every goddamn day."

 

"Henry, language."

 

"Sorry buttercup." He huffed, plating expanding. He stared down at himself in confusion.

 

"Ratchet told me that Cybertronians do that when they feel stressed. It's to keep your internal temperatures level." Rafael explained. "Or when you're sick or scared."

 

Leona giggled. "It, kind of reminds me of a bird puffing up for the winter! All fat and fluffy like it's wearing a big fur coat!"

 

At the mental image, they all started giggling uncontrollably. "Or a cat that's scared and trying to look bigger than itself!" Henry added in between chuckles. 

 

"WILL. YOU ALL. SHUT. THE FUCK UP?!?" Tom's angry roar cut into the peacefulness yet again. 

 

"Aw shut up you buzzkill." Wayne, who had said nothing up until this point sat up and glared at him. "None of us can even sleep anymore. Why even try?!"

 

"Maybe some of us like to keep things the way they are for their own sanity, such as sleeping habits!" He snapped at the younger boy. 

 

"Now let's all calm down-!" Henry began to try and mediate the brewing conflict, but Wayne cut him off.

 

"What fucking sleeping habits!? We're robots. We barely need any sleep!"

 

"We're not robots! We're fucking humans that got turned into these- these things by those fucking psychos out there!!!" Tom was now standing. Sierra, awake now too had pushed herself up and joined the fight.

 

"For the record, one of my friends trusted them with his life!"

 

"And look where it got him. He's not here anymore, isn't he?" 

 

Sierra's jaw dropped open in shock and horror. So did Rafael's. 

 

* * *

 

_Raf and Miko sat together, anxious after they'd finally processed everything. They were no longer shrieking in anguish, or bawling. They looked so drained and ready to drop into recharge at any moment._

_"Where's Jack?" Miko finally realized that their oldest friend wasn't accounted for. June was sitting far away from them, back turned and hadn't moved for hours. Bulkhead wouldn't make eye contact with either her or Raf. "Bulkhead. Where's Jack?" She asked again, insistently._

_"He's uh... he's- uhhhh... oh Primus." He muttered, gaze everywhere but meeting hers._

_"Bulkhead tell me! Where, is, Jack?!?"_

_"He's-"_

_"He's dead!" Bumblebee blurted out. June flinched from across the room. "I- I'm, so sorry. He, didn't make it."_

_"What do you mean, "he didn't make it"?!"_

_"Th- the others- humans... they didn't make it too, did they?" Raf finally broke from his silence._

_This time, Bumblebee couldn't look at him. "We- we'll look for anyone who might've survived. But, we don't know if- or how many, ended up like Jack."_

_Miko and Raf stayed quiet, as they tried to process thus new information. Shockwaves of horror coursed through their circuits as they realized what this meant. Their friends. Their family. Their species._

_All dead. All gone._

_Neither reacted, just sitting there like June in a stupor. They were too emotionally numb to react anymore._

* * *

 

 Raf yelped as Sierra flew past him with a screech, attacking Tom and began to punch him! "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" She bellowed angrily, coolant flooding her optics and rolled down as she beat the stunned mech. "YOU TAKE! THAT! BACK!" 

 

The screams and yells awoke the Autobots thankfully, and Smokescreen and Bumblebee both ran into the scene. The lights were turned on, and Sierra was pulled off of Tom, yelling and spitting curses as Bumblebee restrained her. "LET ME GO! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

 

"CRAZY FUCKING BITCH!" 

 

"Enough, both of you!" Bumblebee shouted, startling Raf. He was still getting used to hearing his friend actually speak instead of vocalizing binary code. "Explanations, now."

 

"She  _attacked_ me!" 

 

"He said- he said Jack-!" Sierra couldn't get the words out before breaking down into fitful sobs. "Jack didn't  _deserve_ this! He didn't  _ask_ for this to happen!" 

 

Tom huffed, but said nothing else. "It's my fault." Leona stood up, looking apologetic. "I- I was singing and irritating Tom." 

 

"Leona-"

 

"And, we were speaking with Rafael. I'm so sorry about all this. It won't happen again." 

 

Bumblebee didn't look convinced. Neither did Smokescreen. "Yeah, sorry to say, this is kind of a big deal." The white and blue mech spoke up.

 

"Bullshit! Tom started this!" Wesley marched up, plating flared aggressively. "He's been nothing but a pain in the ass since he got here!" 

 

"You shut your mouth boy!" 

 

"Or what? You'll shut it for me?" 

 

"That, is, enough." Everyone looked over at a very tired, very pissed off looking Ratchet. "If you had paid attention to my explanation on Cybertronian cyber-biology, you all would know that we actually do need to recharge. Depriving mecha of this causes-" 

 

"Oh fuck you." Tom, ever volatile spat. "I know what  _sleep deprivation_ causes! I'm not an indolent." Ratchet didn't even flinch. "I was in fact trying to sleep! But no. You had to stick us all together expecting us all to get along! We're not fucking animals!" 

 

"I am aware-"

 

"Are you now?! Because the way you keep looking at me and everyone here, seems like you're thinking that! What are we? Some science experiment?! Because if I recall you guys never cared to elaborate on what the fuck happened to us! You just feed us and try to "act" friendly." 

 

"Tom please. You're frightening the children!" Leona insisted.

 

"Boo-fucking- _hoo!_ We're all scared! We're all fucking prisoners!" 

 

Ratchet looked over Tom, at Rafael huddled up, and sighed. "Do you want your own room?" He conceded. Their plan was to keep the humans together so they would be able to process their trauma together. Apparently, that wasn't working with  _this_ volatile scrapheap cursing everyone out and starting fights! 

 

"Wha- my own room. Are you kidding me? That's your-?"

 

"It's either your own room or a night in the brig. Take your pick. We may be not the best hosts to humans, but I for one do _not_ enjoy being woken up at an ungodly hour because you're choosing to lash out at your fellow man." 

 

Tom's jaw opened and closed. And then he conceded. " _Fine._ Whatever you want,  _sir._ " Ratchet left with Tom, escorting him to a spare room. Everyone released a collective sigh of relief.

 

"I'm sorry." Rafael spoke up at long last. "I- I shouldn't have-!"

 

"Hush sweetheart." Leona cooed, rubbing his back again. "You did nothing wrong. Tom- Tom's just, scared. Like we all are." 

 

"Should, we stay or-?" Bumblebee began to ask.

 

"Do whatever." Sierra murmured as she was let go and walked back to the berth, sitting down. "He's right about  _one_ thing: I feel more like a science experiment than a thinking, feeling being right now. You guys can't or won't look at us. It hurts, you know? Playing favorites with Rafael and Miko. No offence." She added to Raf. "Just, maybe if, you stopped prioritizing them over us, maybe- maybe we- I dunno." Sierra sighed and drew her knees to her chest. 

 

They were conflicted, all of them. They wanted to not be alone, but at the same time, they had a hard time trusting the Autobots. Raf wanted to know so badly what had happened, how the Omega Lock had been triggered. He knew the Decepticons must have done it, but, why wouldn't even Bumblebee say anything? Every time Raf or Miko tried to ask, they were both shut down. It felt, creepy almost. It was like they were hiding something. He didn't want to think badly of Bee, but... it was getting harder. With their transformation, the loss of their planet and race, and the death of Jack and-... Ms. Darby... well, needless to say, Raf wanted to stay there that night. 

 

When the two Autobots left, their was a collective sigh, and everyone settled down again. Sierra stayed up, hugging her knees to her chest. Raf watched her as Henry and Leona tried to help him relax so he could rest too. 

 

* * *

 

 _"M-Miko?!"_ _The one femme in the middle of the huddled cyber-formed humans perked up when she saw Miko in the group. The pair had been encouraged to make secondary contact, ease the frightened humans a little. Neither were sure why though. But they supposed, being that they were both humans stuck in the same situation, it'd go over better._

 

_"Uhhh, do I know you?" Raf flinched a bit. Miko sounded so hoarse and numb. Even her voice had lost it's usual pep!_

 

_"It's- it's me! Sierra Tomas! I- we have chemistry with Mrs. Sedward together, remember?"_

 

_"Sierra?" It was Raf who realized who she was. "I'm- I'm in chemistry too!" He stepped forward. "I'm Rafael Esquival! Raf!"_

_  
"Raf? The- the twelve year old? That- oh my god. It happened to you too!" Sierra knelt down, horrified. "It happened to me and Wayne! I mean, obviously."_

_  
Wayne was a loner at school. But he was the twin of Sierra's friend and fellow cheerleader Marian. "Wait. If you two are here, where's Jack?! He hangs out with you two! He's gotta be here, right?!? Right??!" She looked so hopeful, so elated to find people she recognized..._ _Raf couldn't stop himself from crying._

_  
"He didn't make it." Miko was the one who said it, bluntly._

 

_"What...?"_

 

_"He- he d- d- died-" Raf hiccuped. Instantly the other woman in the group -Leona- knelt down to comfort him. Sierra just stood there, in shock, and then looked deflated._

 

_"... why'd I think I'd be that lucky?" She whispered and hugged herself. "Is- did he-?"_

 

_Miko cut her off. "Yeah he suffered. As far as we've heard, everyone who didn't make it did. They're making us talk to you 'cause it's supposed to help or something." She had crossed her own arms, but it was in agitation._

 

_"The- the ones who found us, they're not-?"_

 

_"No. They're not human originally. We're like them now, because of some war machine thing gone wrong."_

 

_"Are- was this all some kind of big accident...?" The mech both would later know was named Henry asked._

 

_"Yeah. The biggest freaking accident ever! And, they can't reverse it either. We're stuck like this!"_

 

_The anger that was in Miko's voice seared the soul of everyone there. Despair immediately followed. What was going to happen to them now?_

 

* * *

 

 

"Jack wanted to tell you." Raf finally spoke up, cautiously, weakly.

 

"What?"

 

"Jack. He- he knew, about the Autobots. So did, Miko and I. We were told to keep it a secret. But Jack told us, he wanted you to know if, they stayed long enough." 

 

"Was that supposed to comfort me?" 

 

"I thought you'd just wanna know."

  
"Yeah well, I'd rather not think about the boy who died literally suffocating to death and in immense pain because those guys screwed up. Him, and my parents, and Marian and everyone else. Just, go to sleep Raf." Sierra curled up and turned so her back faced him. 

  
Raf hung his head. He was too tired to keep crying.

 

xXx

 

"So what do you think?"

 

Ultra Magnus made a contemplative sound at Bulkhead's question. "Perhaps we should allow the humans to venture outside, though we still are unclear of how or what triggers the feral nature in the others found. I would suggest designating Autobots to-"

 

"We're already stretched thin enough." Arcee pointed out to the assembled Autobots coldly. "There's eight of us. Wheeljack is busy scouting for any sign of the Decepticons, and there's no telling when the Decepticons will make their next move."

 

"The humans are getting restless. This is the second fight in the last fourteen solar cycles that we've had to break up! We don't have the training or tools necessary to assist them!" Ratchet let out an uneasy sigh. "Not only that, but, with June-... there's no telling as to when the next problem will happen. We need to figure out something!"

  
"There's no one but us for light years. Everyone else who survived the War are off world, in colonies scattered through the universe, trying to find scraps of Energon or fight skirmishes with Decepticon outliers. We didn't have the communication equipment to reach any of them then, and we don't now. We're on our own out here." 

 

As if the universe was just waiting for Arcee to say it, there was a hailing frequency that popped up on their meager communications and groundbridge equipment. Ratchet's optics cycled wide in shock as Ultra Magnus pushed by everyone and rushed over, answering it. 

 

_"This is Autobot War Cruiser Lost Light, hailing Autobot Outpost Omega One! Does anyone copy? Over!"_

 

Immediately, Ultra Magnus replied. "Lost Light, this is Outpost Omega One. We read you loud and clear!"

 

_"Magnus? That you?"_

 

"Who is speaking?"

 

_"This is Jazz, SIC of the Lost Light! Didn't recognize me through this flimsy signal huh?"_

 

He stepped aside and Optimus continued the call. "Jazz, old friend, it is good to hear from you."

 

_"Optimus? You're there too? Hah! This is great! We are requesting permission to divert our course and land close to your current base!"_

 

"Clearance is granted. Who else is aboard with you?"

 

_"Prowl's captain. We've got myself, Ironhide an' Chromia, Perceptor, Tailgate an' Cyclonus -he's a recent defector- Drift, and -ugh!- Whirl's here too."_

 

"Primus save us all. Why couldn't it be Leadfoot or Hubcap?" Bulkhead groaned at the mere mention of the unstable Wrecker. 

 

_"Lastly we picked up a newbie. He's neutral, none of us can ever remember his name but he's good. He's a trained therapist an' analyst, from before the war!"_

 

Ratchet's optics lit up. "That's- that's perfect! Yes! That's exactly who we needed!" 

 

_"Our ETA is about one of your planet's solar cycles. We've sent you our coordinates."_

 

"We will be ready to receive you before then. Autobot Outpost Omega One, signing off." Optimus ended the transmission. "It would seem that luck has made a small turn in our favor, old friend." He told Ratchet. 

 

"More than that," Smokescreen rocked back on his stabilizers, "we have  _nine_ more Autobots coming! We're going to outnumber the Cons!" 

 

"Preparations must be made. Ultra Magnus, I am authorizing you to be in charge of assigning the landing party in case the Decepticons make any move to intercept."

 

"Yes sir." 

 

"Ratchet, old friend, I want you and Bumblebee to go to the Energon Spring the closest to our base and begin to stockpile more rations."

 

"I'll get started on that immediately!" 

 

"As for the rest of you, we will need to re-organize our designated quarters to make room for those who are staying." 

 

"Whirl's gotta stay in his own." Bulkhead brought up. "The guy's a certified loose canon! Literally!"  

 

"I'll bring the humans with me to help." Ratchet then said. "They need a breath of fresh air, so to say. With their help, we will have a sizable stockpile before nightfall." 

 

"That I will permit." Optimus conceded. "Now then, Autobots, let us prepare for our incoming brethren. Roll out!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well finally, I get something posted! 
> 
> Next chapter, our heroine comes to terms with her reality and makes an unexpected friend...


	6. Weep Not for Roads Untraveled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: dubious consent/non-con (however you read this it's not gonna be very good), mentions of death and suicide

* * *

 

 

Starscream let out an uncomfortable hiss as digits pierced his valve. He didn't get very lubricated anymore, given the fact that he had to frag this hunk of-!

 

He yelped as the side of his helm was struck. "What was that?" Megatron hissed, feeling Starscream's apathy and discomfort through their bond. 

 

"N-nothing..." He was better off pretending than riling up the ire of the mech who's brute strength far surpassed his own! He tried to enjoy it, think back on more adventurous and wanting times. He tried to think of liaisons he'd had with the mech above him, the secret dalliances, sneaking back and forth from each other's rooms-! 

 

Starscream yelped when something pressed against his valve and his optics cycled wide. "M-master-? AHGH!" He winced as Megatron pressed in too soon. "Wait a-!" 

 

"I am tired of waiting." He hissed, beginning to slam his codpiece into Starscream's. 

 

The Seeker had little choice but to take it. Megatron was twice his size, bulk and strength. It would be futile to resist. He laid back, and like always, let Megatron have his way. His processor wandered awhile, numbing himself to the pain, even when his wing top was roughly tweaked to try and illicit whatever noise he wanted him to make. Starscream bleated out some pathetic sounding moan and went back to his deadened state. Eventually, he felt the fragger overload and the small tears in his valve burned. He grimaced, but said nothing as his spark-mate pulled out and stood, interface panel snapping closed.

 

"Fix yourself up." Was all he said as he resigned himself to his private shower rack to rinse off. 

 

Starscream sat up slowly, wincing and looked down. "Oh. Of course." He grumbled, seeing the energon leak out in a disgusting mess with the transfluid. He grunted and stood up, manually closing his own non-responsive panel. Then, he set off for the med-bay, limping and being certain to not take any mainly-used halls or pathways. He didn't want the humiliation of the Drones or Soundwave seeing him in this wretched display! 

 

He made it, eventually, and entered the left wing. The lights were dimmed. Knockout was out. "Primus frag it." He hissed to himself, trying to find a berth out of the way to sit on and just, wait. 

 

"Are you okay...?" 

 

The Seeker almost jumped and whipped around, seeing a pair of bright red optics peering at him innocently from across the medbay. Right. He'd almost forgotten about the Femme! 

 

"You're limping. Did- were you hurt?" She asked again, softly this time. 

 

Starscream opened his mouth to answer, then paused. No. He was certainly not going to make this newcomer think he was pitiful like all the others did! So he straightened up, and lied through his denta, "I was merely injured in battle. No need to worry."

 

"O-oh. He ah- Knockout, I think his name was? He left awhile ago. Something about a buffer." 

 

"I see." Starscream bit out tersely and went to sit on a berth. He eased himself down, in agony but trying to put on a brave face for the Femme to see. "... When did Knockout say he'd be back?"

 

"He didn't say." The mech let out a hiss of discomfort and frustration, his wings drooping. "I- I can go look for-" 

 

"No!" He snapped, and saw her visibly flinch away. "No... he'll be off in his quarters buffing himself to what he deems "perfection" and you don't know where that is. You can barely walk!" 

 

"Yeah. I just- I just wanted to help." She murmured and laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. "Sorry..."

 

"Don't be." He chuffed and laid down best he could. 

 

There was a long, empty pause as they laid there, waiting for the medic to return. "You called yourself a Prince?" 

 

"Hm?"

 

"Before. When I kinda, lost it." Well that was putting it strongly! "You said you were a Prince. Sorry I'm just, really, really curious about that." 

 

"Well, if you absolutely  _have_ to know," Starscream preened, "I was the Prince of Vos, a city-state that-"

 

"Primus Starscream. You're not going to blab the audio receptors of the femme off are you?" Knockout finally arrived, standing in the door frame and rolled his optics. "Honestly. So what happened this time?"

 

He walked over to the mech, looked down, and saw the energon leaking out of his panel. He was about to say something but Starscream gave him a silent look of, 'don't you say anything!' and eyed the Femme. She stared back, and even smiled a tiny bit. Thankfully catching the non-verbal cue, Knockout hit a button on the wall and a metal panel slid out! The wall was designed to give medics privacy when attending to their patients. Knockout began to work once it obscured them from the rest of the room, creating a very small, cramped private examination room. 

 

"Megatron didn't take "wait" for an answer again, did he?" 

 

"Does it matter? "Wait", "no", "stop"- it all sounds the same to him and he listens to none of it!" The Seeker seethed and allowed the medic to remove his panel and begin to work. "And do not tell me-"

 

"This is the thirty-second time this has happened Starscream." Knockout told him regardless. 

 

"I know that! Why must you keep track?"

 

"Because one of these times you'll come in, and I'll have to tell you that your valve is not salvageable. And I do not need to tell you how Megatron will react to that." 

 

"He'll react badly whether I put emphasis on anything I say or hears it. Besides, we've interfaced many times. It'll be fine!" 

 

Knockout sighed, did not say anything else and began to do his repairs after shutting down the pain receptors in his interface array. It was tedious work, but he did it quickly and well enough that it only took a few breems. Knockout rolled his helm to release tension in his neck struts. "No interfacing for three solar cycles while the nanites repair the damage. If Lord Megatron has a problem, he can take it up with me." 

 

"... He'll have a problem. But he won't." Starscream had long since resigned himself to this constant cycle of injury, repair, and reopening old wounds until they somehow healed. He hoped maybe for once Megatron wouldn't want to touch him an extra few solar cycles and he'd be able to heal before anything new happened. The walls were repelled and absorbed into the med-bay, and Starscream got up. He saw that the Femme was recharging now.

 

"Alert me when she awakens. And I mean it this time." He added to Knockout. 

  
With a sigh, the medic acknowledged his request with a, "very well!" and went on his way. Starscream left as well, passing by the Femme and eyed her. She seemed to be in somewhat better shape, by the way she acted/reacted and was able to move. But it was a bit early to tell right then.

 

xXx 

 

Sure enough, three solar cycles later (all gloriously without Megatron's interference) Starscream had heard from Knockout about how "Femme" as she was being called now was slowly degrading. All of her physical wounds were healing, but her mental wounds? Well, that was a different story. When Megatron left to see what new development Shockwave had made in his lab down at the construction site, Starscream made his move. He brought with him one of the few things he'd stored and kept for a long time, that had miraculously survived Cybertron's fall and the numerous instances and stints he'd gone through over the Eons.

 

"Hello." He greeted Femme curtly as he walked into the Medbay. She was sitting up, dreary optics turning to his and lighting up a bit.

 

"Oh hi."

 

"I came to see how you were faring." He kept his voice calm. No sense in frightening her or provoking a nasty reaction. 

 

"... Uh, I dunno. I'm alive, I guess?" She answered after a long moment of hesitation.

 

He sat down across from her, on a stool and pulled a small box out of his subspace. "Your species enjoyed organic concoctions called "sweets" correct?" 

 

"Yeah." 

 

Starscream pressed a button and the box unlocked. Inside were twenty tiny multi-colored cubes and a stack of thirty orange-colored sticks. "These are Goodies. They're equivalent to your Sweets, but we in fact do gain some refueling value from them."

 

He held out the box, offering her to take one. Seekers enjoyed Goodies, and once upon a time they were not such a luxury. They were seen as a commodity, something that no one could imagine being so scarce one sol. And yet, here he was with his second-to-last remaining box of Thundercracker's stash. He felt guilty, but he had to coax Femme into trusting him. And, giving into temptation, she did. She took one of the sticks, and examined it a moment before biting into it and began to crunch away. Her wings perked up at once in delight when her processor indicated what she was tasting. She began to very quickly ingest it, snapping it down. 

 

"I take it you enjoy Rust Sticks?"

 

"Dey tasht like Shnicker Doohles!" She exclaimed happily.

 

"What?"

 

She swallowed. "They taste like Snicker Doodles. Can I have another?" 

 

He scoffed. "Well, I offered didn't I?" 

 

She took another two and this time also took one of the purple-green cubes. She paused and squished it curiously. "Huh." 

 

"What's wrong with it?" 

 

"N-nothing!" She stammered, and then tried it. Her optics again lit up. "Oh- oh my god. It's perfect!"

 

"Does it remind you of yet another earth sweet?" 

 

"Ever had Jolly Ranchers? It tastes like the Lime and Strawberry flavors got mixed together and-!" 

 

"I have no idea what any of that means." Starscream interrupted with a roll of his optics. 

 

"It means I like it, it tastes familiar, and thank you for sharing but I don't like being snarked at." She stated firmly but coldly, taking a big bite out of her Rust Stick. 

 

Starscream balked, and then scoffed. "Oh please. At least someone here is talking to you!"

 

"Ouch." She muttered, settling back down. "I'm done." 

 

"Very well." He shut the box. "Be grateful I am-!"

 

"What happened?" She interrupted. 

 

"... What?" 

 

"With, earth. What happened that caused me to turn into," she motioned non-verbally with her servos. " _this_?!" 

 

"You really want to know?" He deadpanned. The last time she'd inquired he'd ended up with her strangling him and Knockout needing to sedate her! Oh, certainly if he told her-

  
"I know there's no reversing it. I can deal. I know that already. What I wanna know is  _how_ it happened!" 

 

"You're going to nag me until you hear it, won't you?" 

 

"Well I mean, you wanna keep me in the dark? What, was it your fault?"

 

"No!" He almost shrieked in frustration. "It was certainly  _not my_  fault! I didn't want this to even happen!"

 

"So, who did it?" Starscream stayed quiet, suddenly finding the ceiling to be quite interesting. "Hey! Who did it?"

 

He should have said 'The Autobots'. They were obviously the culprits! Or blamed it on some foolish underling. Perhaps he should have pinned it on Megatron! But no. Instead, he chose for once to be  _honest_. "We don't know."

  
"I'm sorry what?" 

 

"We  _don't_ know!" He hissed defensively. "Like I said before it was an accident! We don't know who activated the Omega Lock. It wasn't even supposed to do this level of cyber-forming! It was supposed to turn one of your uninhabitable deserts into cyber-structure as a test! It was meant for Cybertron, not this muckball!"

 

"... This  _muckball_ was my home..." she spoke softly, then turned away. 

 

"Oh don't be like that!" Starscream scoffed. "I'm just about as unhappy about this as you are! I certainly-"

 

"Please go away." 

 

"And why would I-?" 

 

"Please. Go. Away." Femme insisted, drawing herself into a tight ball, wings pressed down and flat. 

 

"Excuse me for being hospitable." Starscream muttered, stood up and stormed out, leaving the femme alone. 

 

 

xXx

 

_"Well thanks a LOT Starscream!"_

 

 

Starscream recoiled almost from the yell Knockout emitted through the private comm-line. "And what are you thanking me for, exactly?"

 

_"The Femme's gone!"_

  
"She's what?"

 

 _"I came back in here after getting my rations and little miss Misery Business is not in her berth!"_ He snapped across the line. _"Starscream what did you do?!"_

 

"She only asked me to- does it _really_ matter??!" 

 

 _"Given that she's been probably suicidal for the past while, then yes, I would say it does matter!"_   Knockout seethed. 

 

"And what do you expect me t-?"

 

_"FIND! HER!"_

 

This time Starscream did in fact physically stagger backwards from Knockout's yell. "All right! All right! Whatever you desire, doctor!" He snapped and ended the call. He stalked out of the control center, not bothering to acknowledge Soundwave's stare at his backplates. Great. Now where would a suicidal Seeker go?! Or rather, one that could in fact turn Feral... 

 

He searched most of the ship and found nothing, and no one had seen her. Most were stunned when Starscream even mentioned that there was yet another Seeker aboard! Of course, he couldn't count on the Drones being any help, useless heaps of scrap they were. So he'd have not only Megatron riding up his aft about leaving his post while on duty, but an irate Knockout about not finding his patient too! Great. Just great. Why did this stupidity only happen to him?!

 

As he strode by the door to the flight deck, he realized that the usually locked door was now  _unlocked._ Oh. 

 

Uh oh. 

 

He opened the door and headed up the stairs leading into the hangar, hoping his assumption wasn't going to be true. One of his own kind offing themselves, one of the only ones he'd seen in millennium (asides from those wretched twins!) regardless if they were formerly human was... well... he wasn't even sure how to put his own feelings about it into cohesive words.

 

By some miracle, he found her seated in the middle of the flight deck. Well. At least she hadn't done what he and Knockout had assumed! Her legs were drawn up, and she seemed to be rocking herself slowly, wings remaining flattened. He cautiously approached, making sure her presence could be detected by her. Just on the safe side, so he could run if necessary. He didn't see her react much, aside from her wings fluttering a bit. He then chose to cautiously ask her the obvious:

 

"Why didn't you flee?" 'Jump' was going to be used instead of 'flee' but, he was wise enough to decide against that.

 

"I was gonna. I managed to find this- whatever this is..."

 

"A flight deck."

 

"Yeah. Well number one, I don't know how to fly. Two, I don't know how these wing-things work and three, where would I even go? I wandered for two months, or maybe longer or shorter I dunno, and saw hardly anyone. Actually... I didn't see anyone else who was sane. Everyone's gone, like you said." She stopped rocking and began to shake. Starscream stepped backwards. Perhaps it was time he take his leave-!

 

"... I had plans for the future y'know?" He stopped and listened to her. "Not that you'd care but, I- I was in post secondary. I wanted to complete my Sociology degree. I liked learning." 

 

Slowly, again he approached and finally sat down beside her, staying quiet. He didn't interrupt, he just listened to her. "I loved learning. I had an amazing family who loved me to bits, who wanted me to do what I wanted and pursue what I dreamed of doing with- with my life. The day it happened I was fussing over, groceries and homework and other dumb stuff." She sniffled. "I was gonna write my finals. Then I'd work at school. Rinse and repeat until I was done. I wanted to write about how society works and help people understand what and how things work, research a-and stuff. I didn't have anything solid. I just knew, where I wanted to go and...!" She hiccuped. "I wanted to go to Japan for a semester. I wanted a house of my own, with pets and- and someone to be there for me and love me! I didn't wanna be alone! I don't wanna be alone!!!" She let out a loud sob, which came out static-y. "Why'd- _why didn't I die?_ _Why couldn't I have died?!?_ I-... I don't know what to do... There's no reset button. I can't go back and I'm scared. I don't wanna be alone..." 

 

She stopped talking, and Starscream sat there, beside her, unsure of what to say or how to react to that. His processor tried to come up with some mocked sincerity or fake reassurance. But what he spoke next was a compulsion from deep inside, that which he tried to keep hidden in fear of being exploited himself:

 

"I understand. It was the same for me." 

 

"It- it was?" Her helm turned to face his, optics wet with coolant. 

 

"As you asked me before, yes, I was a Prince, a very long time ago." He looked back, out at the horizon, and gazed longingly at it. He wished it would shift back into that which he'd once known. "I was the Prince of Vos, an isolated city upon Cybertron. It was far away, sheltered from the bitter world in that which we lived. Seekers were the fastest fliers and the most creative of minds... I was sheltered, but I was safe. I had brothers. I had someone who loved me dearly." His voice grew monotonous, as he recounted his sordid tale. "And then the bombings happened. War had been long discussed, but we thought we were safe. I, thought we were safe. But no. No I- I was foolish to even chance that. We all paid dearly for it. Most of my- our species were wiped out in one sol. I lost everything I'd ever known. And then, one by one, I lost the love of my life, and then my brothers. And now, I am alone." He scratched the metal beneath him with his claws, trying to keep everything bottled up. "I continue to ask myself what could have been, what life would have been like if I was not- if, we, were not the last Seekers to remain. And that, terrifies me as well."

 

"... Why didn't you tell me this before?" Her voice came out as a whisper. She couldn't muster much. 

 

"I am, as they call me here, a supposed "coward" and "narcissist". I in fact have a processor defect that causes both of these traits. Hmph. Not that any of those sully block-headed _morons_ in this faction would ever care to know that!" He scoffed, wings flicking upwards in indignation. But then they lowered as his feelings of superiority passed quickly. "Most of our kind, in fact had them. Why? I do not know. But it does not nullify any respect we are owed, Femme. It does not nullify respect, nor our actions. There is much I wish I had not done nor said that put me in the position I am in. I have fought endlessly to end it, by any means. That is including mutiny. But I have failed at that once too many times. I am very tired Femme. Megatron, our leader has pushed us to the brink, and past it. I am truly remorseful of what I have done. If you are wiser than I, you will do everything you can to not get involved. Do you understand?" 

 

"Yeah. Y-yeah, no, I won't." She agreed. "I'll try at least." 

 

"Good." Starscream nodded, and then chuffed. "I should leave you be. I doubt that sitting next to one of the mecha who caused your calamity in the first place is-!"

 

"Stay." She grabbed his servo and squeezed it, looking at him almost desperately. "I- I'm sorry about earlier. I don't wanna be left alone again. I spent so long wandering, and then stuck in that bed, just- just for a little while. Please?" 

 

He hesitated, but then sighed and nodded. "Very well." He pulled his servo free, ignoring the brief flutter of his spark and settled back down to watch the sun set. It was a short while later, that Femme began to hum a tune to herself. Starscream paid attention to it, and her, and then caught her soft singing;

 

"... Weep not for roads untraveled. Weep not paths left alone. 'Cause beyond every bend, is a long blinding end, and it's the worst kinda pain I've known." Starscream didn't tell her to stop, like he normally would have with anyone else. He stayed stationary, and focused back on the sunset. But he still listened. "... Give up your heart left broken. And let that mistake pass on. 'Cause the love that you lost, wasn't worth what it cost, and in time you'll be glad it's-" 

  
"What is your actual designation?" Starscream cut in before she could continue. 

 

"My- my name?"

 

"No, your serial number code. Yes, your name." He sighed.

 

"... I-" she hesitated a long moment. "No."

 

"No is your designation?"

 

"No, I'm not giving you my name."

 

"And why not?" 

 

"It's not important anymore. My kind is dead, or transformed. I feel like both. So, my name's pointless." 

 

Starscream said nothing, and then turned back to watch the sun finish dipping down across the mountain range ahead. She was strange. He didn't mind that, eerily enough. As they were bathed in the final rays of the distant star, Femme finished her song,

 

"... _Weep not for roads untraveled. Weep not for sights unseen. May your love never end, and if you need a friend, there's a seat here 'long side me_..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it's almost midnight so I'm going to bed. FYI, comments feed my muse! 
> 
> Up next, The Autobots greet their reinforcements...


	7. Lost Light/Ratchet's Lament

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: mentions of drug use, death, angst

* * *

 

"What are we doing out here anyway?" Wayne asked, dragging his peds through the dusty, grey ground beneath. He watched as Tom begrudgingly carried one last stack of cubes out, as the groundbridge closed behind him and the other humans accompanying the medic. He was stooped over some kind of machine he'd wheeled to the pit of murky, blue-green energon.

 

"Hand me those cubes." Ratchet instructed, motioning towards the stack. Raf was the first to walk over, grab one, and give it to his mentor. "Thank you. Now this is what you do." He placed the cube down, set the machine next to it, and turned on the machine. A holographic screen flashed to life, in Cybertronian, with a bulleted list. "You select this," he pressed the first option on the screen. "then you select this and this," on the next screen he selected the third option. The machine whirred to life, and through the tube began to suck up the blue-green energon, run it through, and deposit the glowing blue into the cube. "And we have filtered energon, mid-grade. Leona, can you re-select the process when the machine resets? And Henry, I want you to replace the filter when the screen flashes red. He pointed to a cartrige similar to a floppy disk sticking out of the machine. "Raf, Sierra, and Wayne, you will help me scout for crystals - purple, pink and blue in color and collect them. We'll be making goodies with the ones we find." 

 

"Goodies?" 

 

"Sweets. As well, if you spot anything that resembles rust, alert me. Rust Deposits, when refined can be turned into Rust Sticks, but coming into direct contact with the substance can cause Rust Infection, which will eat away at your plating." Wayne looked disgusted. "What? It's not unlike how you humans ingested acidic plants because, and I am quoting Miko here, "they're spicy". When put through the proper processing, they're quite safe to eat!"

 

"And what am I supposed to do?" Tom asked archly.

 

"I'll find a task for you soon, but I thought you would enjoy some fresh air after being cooped up for so long. Besides, we do need to figure out the new layout given our surprise visitors coming!"

 

"Right. More of  _your_ kind." Tom grumbled, and Wayne gave him a look.

 

"Hey you didn't have to agree to come." He noted, and looked down at Raf. "C'mon, let's see how many we can find. Person who finds the most wins!" 

 

"Hah! That's gonna be me!" Sierra grinned. "You boys better watch out!"

 

"No way Sierra. You're going down! Right Raf?"

 

The mini-bot grinned. "You're  _both_ gonna lose!" 

 

"We'll see about  _that!_ " Wayne scoffed, and lined up at the mouth of the ravine. "On your marks, get set... GO!"

 

The trio booked it down the metal, yelling and shouting, Ratchet bellowing a, "be careful!" before they disappeared from sight. He chuckled. "To be young again." 

 

"How old are you anyway?" Henry decided to ask as he and Leona sat next to the machine. 

 

"Old enough that my back struts short circuit if I so much as try to bend over the wrong way." 

 

"Ahh, throwing out your back. Now there's something I don't miss." He and his wife shared a laugh. Tom snorted, but no one acknowledged the curmudgeonly man.  

 

"In human years, if I really had to take a guess, I would say I am in my late fifties, or early sixties." 

 

"Same. You see a lot change, I'll say that. Seems like yesterday it was the Summer of Love, and I met my beautiful wife here." 

  
Leona giggled. "Henry!" 

 

"A pretty flower child, lounging beneath a tree,"

 

"Henry!"

 

"High from a little _Mary Jane_ -"

 

 _"Henry!"_ She slapped his shoulder, and the metal clanged. Both stared, the noise sobering them a moment as reality set in. They stayed quiet a moment, and Ratchet tried to bring them back from their sadness.

 

"I've heard of "The Summer of Love" before. It was a protest against your country's war at the time, correct?" 

 

"Yeah. It was a useless war, y'know." Henry nodded to himself, confirming his memories. "All of our men going out, fighting to just keep this failing American Dream alive. They had to  _force_ people to go. One of my cousins dodged the draft and ran off to Canada. He lived in Kamloops until he was, fifty-ish? Then he died from a heart attack." 

 

"A useless war. Yes, I know that very well. How were you not drafted?" 

 

"Fate I guess. My number just never came up. So I decided to screw being patriotic, because my friends were getting mutilated and god-knew-what else in a country they had no business in being in. All that was being threatened was an ideology and a pathological fear of a way of life being overwritten." 

 

"I lost my brother to that war." Leona nodded. "It was, very hard on my mother. She only had Paul and myself. So I went to protest too. And I was using _marijuana_ to help cope with his loss." She looked at her husband pointedly.

 

"Sorry love. You were quite adorable, giggling every other word!"

 

She shook her head. "Well, nonetheless I met Henry there. It was a silver lining in all that turmoil and uncertainty and shifting of political winds. We hated the American Dream. And we found each other and a new dream to live for." 

 

Ratchet stayed quiet, seeming lost in their recounting of the story, and then he asked: "... how old were you both? Back then?"

 

Leona and Henry looked at each other. "I think I was about seventeen? Eighteen?"

 

"It was shortly after my sixteenth birthday so you were seventeen and I was eighteen." Leona nodded. "Yeah. I was wearing the necklace my mother made me. And I was wearing a skirt I got as a gift a week prior so yeah. I was sixteen, you were seventeen. We got married two years later." She leaned her head against her husband's after she switched out the cubes. "And we've been happily married ever since, for forty years." 

 

Tom scoffed audibly again, and this time Ratchet paid attention, raising an optic ridge. He watched as the mech turned away, seated against a part of the ravine wall, arms folded and looking utterly cross. 

 

"And yourself?" 

 

"Excuse me?" 

 

"Tom, wasn't it? What were you-?"

 

"I wasn't even  _born_ then! And, before you ask, no, I didn't think the war was a _"lost cause"_. My father in fact was a veteran and a good man who believed in protecting his country. We had the American Dream, and unlike the liberals and hippies we didn't take it for granted! Even in Jasper, the dirt bowl of the State we had it all! I had it all, rather." He gave his own pointed look at Tom and Leona, who uncomfortably shied away from it and his barbed use of _"liberals and hippies"_. "I was engaged, I had two purebred German Shepherds that I thought of as family, and you know what? My life was pretty damn great! Then you lot showed up, did God-knows- _what_ to  _my_ town and  _my species_ and now you're trying to be friends with us because you feel guilty! That's it, isn't it?" 

 

Ratchet reset his vocalizer. "No, that's not it. You are dealing with a lot. And we are only trying to help for the sake of helping. It... partially,  _is_ our fault however it is also our enemy's for making that forsaken device. There was no telling what it could or would do. My regret is that we didn't stop it in time!" 

 

"So that's it then. You failed. And we're collateral?" Tom looked away. "Well fuck you. I'll be a freeloader for now, even if I _hate_ freeloaders, but mark my words; the moment that you can reverse  _this_ ," he motioned to himself, "I am getting it first and I am leaving to reclaim the world that you lot took from us." 

 

"Very well." Was Ratchet's answer, and he turned back to the machine, which chugged and whirred away. He'd never be able to tell them his own role in the creation of their demise. He had been forced into complying, and every time he looked at their lost, empty faces his spark wrenched in guilt. The others never blamed him for what he'd had to do. Yet, there was always the lingering sensation of doubt. What if he had sacrificed himself and was killed? They could have never gone far enough to stabilize the formula without him! 

 

He looked up at the sound of laughter and saw the kids come racing back, peds thumping against the ground. If he didn't know they were once organic, human, with budding futures in their organic world he would have sworn he was back on Cybertron. It was a scene directly out of one of the paintings of Sunstreaker: a trio of younglings racing together towards the focal point, arms loaded with crystals and beaming in absolute joy and excitement. 

 

"I win!" Raf cheered as he skidded to a halt at the mouth of the ravine. 

 

"No way! I was at  _least_ one step ahead of you!" Sierra proclaimed. "Right Wayne?"

 

"Uhhh..."

 

"Wayne!" 

 

"What? I wasn't paying attention!"

 

Sierra sighed and looked at the group of watching full-grown mecha. "Which one of us won?" 

 

"Hm. Sierra was  _very_ close! Wouldn't you say so dear?" Henry noted with a chuckle and wink. 

 

"Oh yes! But little Rafael was ahead by at  _least_ an inch or so!" 

 

"Ratchet? You decide! Tie breaker! Who won? Me or Raf?" 

 

The old mech smiled, standing up and winced as his back joints cracked, popped and fritzed with the strain. Oh he was getting too old to be stooping over like this! "I do believe that Rafael was ahead of you  _this_ time Sierra." 

 

"Yes!" The small orange 'bot cheered, bouncing on his peds. "Yes! I win!"

 

"Next time though, I'll beat you Raf, mark my words!" Sierra grinned as the trio walked up and deposited the crystals into a giant cube.

 

Ratchet looked down at their bounty and his optics lit up a little. He hadn't seen that amount since his own cold-forging! Even during the Golden Era, there had never been so many of these found at once! He marveled down at them awhile, and then let out a soft sigh, remembering that these had replaced the vegetation that humans used for their own consumption. Their "chocolate" and "marshmallow" and "cakes" were no more. The guilt welled up a bit. Some solar cycles were easier than others, to convince himself that he hadn't wrecked the planet he'd been trying to save... that he hadn't destroyed it all.

 

xXx

 

"What's their ETA?" Ultra Magnus asked for maybe the fifth time that morning. Everyone was antsy and the atmosphere was getting tenser from the excitement and anticipation. Of course, that meant everyone was also a little... snippy, to say the least.

 

"Well maybe if you stopped  _asking_ me every five clicks, I'd know!" Ratchet barked curmudgingly to his superior officer. Then he sighed. "Sorry, sorry. Their ETA though hasn't changed since the last time you asked me, _five clicks ago._ " 

 

"Apologies." 

 

With a heavy sigh, Ratchet returned to the monitor, as conversation buzzed in the background. And then it was cut into by an audio-receptor-disrupting yell from Miko;

 

"What do you  _mean_ I can't come with you?!? Bulkhead!!!"

 

"Miko I'm serious. Look, normally, I'd be more than okay with you meeting some Wreckers from the old sols but Whirl-... Whirl is  _very_ unstable. If you say the wrong thing to him, or make the wrong move- I've seen him execute Decepticons for less! Do you understand? Whirl isn't safe to be around and I'm not letting you be hurt by that- that psychopath!" Miko let out a complaintive whine but Bulkhead wasn't having it. "When he gets here, you'll let me introduce him to you. You aren't going to be alone with him, you or any of the other humans. Understand?" 

 

Miko let out a depressed sigh, crossed her arms and nodded in surrender. "Even now that I'm one of you, you still don't trust me." 

 

"I-!" Bulkhead exhaled exhaust through his vents. "We'll talk later. Right now I have to be ready in case-"

 

The base's communication line was pinged, and Ultra Magnus answered it instantly. "This is Autobot Outpost Omega One!" 

 

_"You're on top 'a things! We're coming in for a landing, unless we ain't cleared?"_

 

"No, our scanners have not picked up any incoming Decepticon signals. We will be meeting you at your coordinates shortly!"

 

_"Perfect. See y'all in a few clicks!"_

 

The transmission ended as Ratchet prepared the groundbridge. "Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee, with me. Remember to keep on your guard; just because our scanners did not pick any initial signatures, does not mean they may not try something."

 

Nodding in acknowledgement, the trio of Autobots formed behind their commander as the bridge opened. "Miko-" 

 

"I'm going! I'll make myself scarce. Don't worry." Miko interrupted Bulkhead, shuffling away, helm hung. Bulkhead felt a twang of guilt but shook it off as he, Arcee, Bumblebee stepped through the groundbridge and stepped into the desert wasteland that was once Death Valley. It was still that, just, metallic. And felt more devoid of life than ever before. The ship had landed, a large vessel (and probably hard  _not_ to miss on the Decepticon's sensors!) capable of carrying hundreds of Autobots. Only nine emerged as the ramp descended and they emerged from the depths. 

 

The first off the ship was Prowl, as rigid as ever, almost an equal to Ultra Magnus with their firmness and demand for respect. With him back, he would resume his post as SIC of the Autobot Regime. "Ultra Magnus, it is good to see you, commander." Prowl addressed the mech respectfully as the others filtered out of the ship and onto the ground, one by one. 

 

"So this is earth!" A white-and-blue minibot, Tailgate according to the roster gasped in awe. "It's so much like Cybertron, I can't believe it! Can't you Cyclonus?!" The grim looking mech only grunted at the minibot's gasp of delight.

 

"HAHA BULKY YOU OL' SLAGHEAD!" A blue Autobot came shooting out of the door, down the ramp and nearly knocked the green mech over! 

 

"Whirl-!"

 

"Shhhh! Don't say anything." A claw was pressed to his mouth. "You'll ruin the moment... HAHA NO WAY OLD WRENCH-UP-HIS EXHAUST PIPE's HERE TOO?!?" He let go of Bulkhead and darted to the front of the group. "AND STRIPES?!? WOOHOO! THE WHOLE GANG'S ARRIVED!" 

 

Ultra Magnus coughed. "Whirl, I still resume command over the Wreckers and-"

 

"Yeah-yeah, I know, I know! 'That's not how we conduct ourselves' bla-bla-bla." he clicked his claws together to mimic a mouth yakking on. "Nothing but my  _best_ behavior commandant! I promise, I swear!"

 

There was a sudden squeal from Arcee, one none of them had heard for eons. "CHROMIA!" 

 

"ARCEE!" The green and colbalt femme ran to greet her comrade and dear friend, the two femmes hugging tightly. "Oh, it's  _so_ good to see you! I haven't since you left Camina with Optimus Prime!"

 

"I know, I know, we have much to catch up on!" She grasped her friend's servos as they pulled apart, and then Arcee saw Ironhide walk down the ramp. "And, I see you brought your lovemate with you." 

 

Chromia chuckled awkwardly. "Ah, well, actually-..." 

 

"You- no! You two bonded?!"

 

"While in space." The thickly-accented mech wrapped an arm around the waist of his now-confirmed sparkmate. Chromia giggled and Bulkhead watched as his comrade and partner showed more emotion than she had in weeks, let alone in the last dozen eons they'd been fighting together! He felt a tap to his side and looked down, to see a thin, orange-colored mech.

 

"Ahh, excuse me. Do you happen to know our rooming situation? I was hoping to set up an office not in my quarters and-" 

 

"Sorry do I know you?" Bulkhead blinked.

 

"Possibly not. I mean it has been some time- oh never mind. My name is Rung! I am a therapist and processorologist! I am hoping my skill set can serve the Autobots in exchange for room and board."

 

"Oh.  _Oh_ you're the- perfect! Doc, we'll have you set up. Believe me, we're glad you're here!" At last, Miko would have someone professional to talk to! 

 

There was a sharp beep from Prowl, who alerted the chattering mecha to quiet down and turn their attentions to him. "We will now be proceeding to the Omega One Base! I want single file, and two volunteers to watch the flank and rear in case of any incoming Decepticons. Do I have anyone who would volunteer?" 

 

"I am more than willing to take up the rear!" Drift, a former Decepticon called out.

 

"'Course ya would." Whirl sniggered.

 

"And Whirl, I am glad you volunteered to flank the line!"

 

The blue Wrecker stuttered, then his optic narrowed in anger, and the group held their collective breaths. Then he relaxed. "Fine, fine! I'll hold the flank 'till everyone's through! I was gonna volunteer anyway!" He walked with Drift to their positions, and the two kept guard as the Autobot newcomers filed in.

 

Bulkhead exhaled, and got in line as commanded and walked through. He looked around the control room and was relieved to find Miko wasn't in sight. Good. She was with the others. Once inside, Optimus Prime stepped forward. Everyone again fell silent until Jazz spoke up. "Good 't see ya Optimus. You look... jacked up." 

 

Prowl and Ultra Magnus gave him pointed looks. Optimus only let out the slightest of chuckles. "I am pleased to see you as well Jazz. I am pleased to see  _all_ of you. Reinforcements have long been needed for us to continue this fight, and try for victory. Unfortunately, our situation upon this planet is complicated and dire. As of 126 solar cycles ago, a catastrophe turned this once organic planet into a cyberformed shell of itself. The Decepticons created a weapon based on the Omega Lock that cyberformed Earth, and it's organic inhabitants. Billions have died. Only a few have survived." The horrified looks shared by the newcomers said all that needed to be said. "The few who have survived are now Cybertronians, like us. The Decepticons, when learning this, will be searching for humans to indoctrinate to bolster their ranks. We must find, secure and protect the human survivors, as well as thwart our enemy at every turn. Cybertron is lost, but this planet is not. We are making our final stand here. When the Decepticons are ready to strike again, we must be ready!" 

 

Cheers erupted from the group, all save for Whirl, who skulked in the back, and Cyclonus, stony and silent as ever. "The chain of command will resume. Prowl is SIC, you will answer to him for reports and assignments. Ultra Magnus will be resuming command of the Wreckers, and Ratchet is once again our medic. Jazz is our Communications Officer, and will be in charge of relaying transmissions and leading stealth missions. Your rooms have been assigned, and-"

 

"Excuse me!" All optics fell on the tiny orange mech. "I am terribly sorry to interrupt you, Prime, sir, but I have a slight inquiry?"

 

"Ahh Primus here we go." Whirl muttered. 

 

"Where will I be set up? I am after all, a therapist, and I was informed my services here would be necessary?"

 

Optimus Prime was silent a moment. "... I am sorry, who are you?" 

 

"And we're back to business!" Whirl chuckled, then noticed a femme peeking around the corner, watching them. He waved, and she darted back. He chuffed to himself, a little confused but not entirely surprised. Reactions like hers were a dime a dozen. Oh well. He had  _lots_ of time to get to know whoever-that-was. And, he had time to cause a little chaos while he was at it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little "fluffier" than the rest. Comments and Kudos feed my muse!
> 
> Next chapter: Femme tries to readjust to life as a Cybertronian. It's going not so well.


End file.
